Triple Identity
by Lucifer-Allheart
Summary: Gohan has been working at the CC since he was 15, but now at age 18 his mom forces him to go to high school. How will Gohan fit in while trying to keep his identity as halfalien, superhero AND scientist hidden? GohanxVidel highschool fic with some twists
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z Dragonball GT or any of its characters. I am simply borrowing them in hopes of providing some entertainment to other people.

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Triple identity chapter 1

A tall, black haired teen was lying on his bed uncomfortably with his eyes on the ceiling, thinking thoughtfully. He was…afraid. But why? Why was he afraid of something that's so normal? In his life, he had faced multiple threatening situations, traveled to other planets, fought against intergalactic tyrants and had already taken out more lives than serial killers do.

And yet…

The answer was quite simple. He had never had a normal life. At a young age, before he even reached puberty, he had chosen to become a fighter and saw his father die twice, seen his mentor sacrifice himself, and saw numerous other things that most kids during that age would find to be traumatic. He was used to it now. He knew neither hid father nor his mentor even regretted about their decision to sacrifice themselves for others. But it didn't make his live normal by any means.

Three years ago, when he was fifteen, Bulma Briefs, his godmother and owner of the Capsule Corporation, had convinced Gohan's mother that working at CC would help with his studies. His mother had agreed and Gohan started a small internship. It was common knowledge in the world that CC had multiple departments, ranging from clothing to literally, and even weapons. CC was into everything that could be legally made. In less than two years, Gohan had used his intellect to not only gain respect from his peers, but also work his way up in one of the most difficult department: The Research and development department. This department did exactly what its name suggested. They researched whatever they needed to and then made plans to develop it. After the previous department director decided to retire, the employers started to vote for Gohan to be the head of the R and D department. A few months later, Gohan had won over sixty percents of the votes. He was truly the youngest and most respected employee of the CC and through some miracle Bulma had actually managed to keep it quite so he could live a normal live, not bothered by the press.

Now, at age eighteen, Gohan had almost everything guys of his age dream of. And he was still the strongest fighter in the universe.

'_Well'_, he thought, _'seven years ago, I was the strongest. Maybe Vegeta has surpassed me by now. After all he never stops training and all I've been doing these last few years is studying and working.'_

It was true. Vegeta had reached the second level of Super Saiyan about a year after the defeat of Cell. Vegeta had never told anyone how he had reached it, but Gohan noticed it was around that time that Trunks, Vegenta's son, had first become able to walk on his own. He suspected it had something to do with that. Even so, he wasn't the strongest fighter in the universe anymore, but still, one of the strongest fighters and most definitely the strongest fighter of his age. And he had made a career in the Capsule Corporation of all places. Sure, it helped that his godmother was the owner, but she honestly did not have anything to do with his working his way up in the corporation.

And yet, Chichi, his mother, had enrolled Gohan in high school. When Gohan said that he wouldn't have to because he already had a great career, his mom had simply said that she didn't care.

"_I still want you to get a decree Gohan. And besides it's about time you start to make some human friends your own age."_ She had also said something about grandchildren and a wife, but Gohan hadn't really been paying much attention any more.

'_She has a point'_ Gohan thought. Gohan only had one friend his age and he wasn't human. This friend was a dragon that was born about half a year before him. The dragon's name was Icarus en he was well over 6 meters/20 feet high. Gohan had met him years ago, when saving him from a forest fire and they have been good friends ever since. Most of his other friends were much older and some of them not even human. Even Dende, who had become the new guardian of the earth, was actually older then Gohan.

Last night, Gohan and his mom had a little talk about Gohan's powers at school. A little talk basically meant that Chichi had instructed Gohan not to use his powers at all and that it was better if he didn't tell people about his job just yet while he simply nodded and agreed, afraid of the frying pan in her hand. Even with all his genius he never managed to find a way to protect himself from a frying pan.

---

The next morning, Gohan left for school after a good breakfast, consisting of what normal people would call a seven coarse meal. He also received a teary goodbye from his younger brother Goten, who didn't like the idea of his older brother being gone for longer than thirty minutes.

Gohan was flying over Satan City, a small distance from the West City where CC's main building was located, so the distance was nothing new. Just over five hundred miles and he wouldn't need more than half an hour if he took things easily, and less than two minutes if he flew at top speed. Gohan would attend one of the best high schools in the country, Orange Star High. Landing outside of the city so he wouldn't be noticed, Gohan decided to walk to his school from there. Orange Star High was located near the edge of the city, so it wouldn't be too much of a walk.

Just a few blocks into the city, Gohan saw something that confirmed all the bad rumors he had been hearing about Satan City. There was, in broad daylight and in the middle of the street, a very violent bank robbery going on. The police didn't seem to be able to do anything to the heavy weaponry that the crooks had brought with them.

'_Damn, I should try to help them out. But if I jump in, everyone will know about my powers. How do I act without revealing myself?'_ he thought for a moment, and an idea came up. _'Of course, that's it. I'll just go super and no one will recognize me.'_ With that, Gohan quickly ran behind a bush and dropped his bag on the ground. Looking around to see if anyone was watching, he clinched his fists at his side and instantly underwent the legendary transformation of the Saiyan race. His black hair turned a bit spikier and became gold. His black eyes became green and his muscles expanded a bit. It had its own benefits to be a half alien at times.

Gohan jumped up and made sure that he landed in the middle of the four villains that were robbing the bank. Gohan responded to the stunned villains by giving the first of the four men a soft chop to the neck. The man had passed out before he even hit the ground. Turning on his heels, he gave the second robber a small tick on the head with two fingers which knocked him out instantly and gave him a massive concussion. The third and fourth one started to run to their getaway car in hopes of escaping. Gohan managed to knock one out cold instantly, but the fourth and last one actually made it to the truck and started to race away.

'_Not that quickly,' _Gohan thought as he moved forward to grab the truck. Pushing his heels into the ground, the big pick up truck didn't move one inch while Gohan held it. Slowly shifting his weight a bit to behind, Gohan began lifting the truck of the ground, much to the amazement of the people watching. After he lifted the car a feet or so of the ground, Gohan released an energy blast from his hand to destroy the tires and gave a shock to the driver. Dropping the car back on the ground, he noticed that the driver was already knocked out.

Deciding that at this point the police could take over, Gohan quickly shot up and moved to get his back as he transformed back to his normal form. As he stood up from the bush where his bag was hidden, a voice suddenly addressed him.

"Hey, you." As Gohan turned around, he saw a girl about his age and about a head shorter then him, standing in the middle of the street. She had shoulder length black hair tied up in two braids, each carries across one of her shoulders. Her eyes were deep but light blue and she was wearing a baggy white shirt, short pants, fighting gloves and set of trainers. "What happened here?"

"I don't know. I didn't see what happened." He answered her.

"What?" she said. "How could you miss a bank robbery going on in the middle of the street?"

"Well…" for all his brains, Gohan couldn't think up a lie to save him. Luckily, he didn't have too because the girl answered is for him.

"I bet you were hiding in that bush all along. Coward." With that, she turned and walked away to the crowd, probably to interrogate someone else. Quickly Gohan turned on his heels and made a run towards his school, hoping that he didn't attract too much attention to himself.

---

Half an hour later, Gohan was once again feeling extremely nervous. He was standing outside of the classroom, waiting for the teacher to introduce him to the class. _'Okay Gohan, just take it smooth and everything will be fine.'_ From inside the class, he could hear all the other students making noises such as talking and gossiping and all the other noises they'd normally do. When they heard the teachers demand silence, he tensed up even more.

"Now then, boys and girls, I have an announcement to make. Today, we receive a new student. He has managed to make perfect scores on all his tests, which means that a lot of you can learn something from him." With that he turned towards the half open door and told Gohan to come in.

The moment Gohan walked into the classroom, people started to talk again. Most guys were talking about him either looking like a geek or not while he could have sworn he heard some girls whisper the word cute to each other.

"Well, Gohan, why don't you tell us something about yourself?" the teacher asked kindly.

"Okay, sure. Hi everyone, my name is Gohan. I'm seventeen years old and I've been home schooled for the better part of my life. I'm here to get my degree and I hope I enjoy my time here." He hoped that it was good enough for them.

"Do you have a job?" asked one of the girls.

'_I knew it. Someone just had to ask.'_ He really didn't want them asking for his job or anything else of his personal life.

Knowing he couldn't lie, Gohan gave a half answer. "Yes, I work at the Capsule Corporation." Having a job at CC was not all that big. CC had a cleaning staff counted more than a thousand heads.

When it stayed silent the teacher spoke up again, "It seems that everyone is satisfied. Please take a seat somewhere Gohan, and I'll begin the lessons."

Before he could even start looking for an empty seat, a blond girl somewhere in the back jumped up and yelled at him. "Hey cutie, this seat is open. You can sit next to me." Turning a bit red at being called 'cutie', Gohan walked up the stairs to her. As he sat down, he had a good look at the girl that had called him.

The girl had short blond hair with big blue eyes. She was wearing a tight tank top and yeans. From what Gohan could see, which was quite a bit because her clothes were very formfitting, this girl could definitely give Bulma a run for her money both the general figure and chest size department. She quickly introduced herself as Erasa.

The guy sitting next to Erasa also had blond hair, but his reached down to the mid of his back and chest. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt that showed of his muscular arms and was, like Erasa, wearing jeans. Erasa introduced him as Sharpener. Sharpener didn't even look at Gohan, seemingly more busy trying staring ahead.

The third girl was the girl that Gohan had seen near the band that morning. Feeling even more nervous than before, Gohan sat down on his chair as the, boring, lecture began.

---

Videl Satan was not a stupid girl and she knew her best friend good enough to know what was going on. Erasa was on another one of her matchmaking plots. She would either try to match this new kid to Videl, or try to date him herself. She always was a sucker for looks and the new kid, she had to admit, was definitely not bad looking. He was tall, cute and from the way he carried himself she could see he was in good shape. She hoped that Erasa would try to take this kid to herself. The morning was frustrating enough as it was.

The bank were the miraculous 'Gold Fighter', as he had been named bystanders, had been robbed was no more than two blocks away from the school. As a result, plenty of people saw what happened and the rumors were spreading quickly. A person of their age and according to some people on the scene, wearing her school uniform and badge had saved the day by knocking three robbers out in a matter of second and then simply _lifted_ a pick-up truck. She _knew_ that she had seen something like that before, but she couldn't place _when_.

Erasa was introducing the new kid to the rest of Videl's little group, meaning that he was introduced to her and Sharpener properly. There were only two people in the school that Videl would hang out with and they were sitting next to her.

"So Gohan," Erasa said a few minutes into the lesson, "Where do you work at the CC?" Videl turned around a bit too. She had heard Gohan say that he worked at the CC, but he had not said where he worked.

"Well, I work that the Research and Development department," he said shyly. Videl raised her eyebrows a little. The R&D department is one of the most important departments in CC.

"Wow. And what kind of work do you do there then? With your brains, I bet you're pretty important right?"

Videl shook her head, just barely holding back a sigh._ 'Great. She met the guy two minutes ago and already hitting on him. At least that means she won't try to hook me up with him.'_

Gohan hesitated for a few seconds before he opened his mouth to give an answer. But before he could however, Sharpener spoke up. "Forget it Erasa. He probably works at the R&D department as a snack delivery boy or something."

It was because of Sharpener's word that Videl suddenly made the connection. "Of course, that's it." She exclaimed.

"What's what?" Erasa questioned her, confused at her friends sudden outburst.

Videl turned toward her best fried and immediately got an eyeful of Gohan up close. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place it. And there was no way she was going to ask if they knew each other. Not only would that give Gohan the bad idea about here, Erasa would immediately try to hook Videl up with the new guy, mistaking her question for interest. "This whold Gold Fighter affair. I just remembered where I've seen other people with golden hair and superhuman strength."

Before she could continue however, Gohan spoke up. "Excuse me, but who's this Gold Fighter you're talking about?"

"He's the town's new super hero." Erasa said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Just this morning he appeared out of nowhere and stopped a bank robbery in a matter of seconds. He's amazing. He's super strong, fast and has golden hair. That's why he's been named the Gold Fighter."

Suddenly, Gohan looked uncomfortable. Erasa quickly turned around back to Videl and asked her what she was talking about when she said that she remembered the stuff the Gold Fighter had done. "It's from the Cell Games, remember? There were four people that had golden hair or could turn it gold. And the people at the bank said he was about our age, right? That kid was fighting Cell before the cameras broke, the 'delivery boy' was around our age."

"Come on Vi, you've got to be kidding me." Sharpener exclaimed.

---

'_Damn.'_ Gohan thought. _'She's sharp. She didn't even se me fight and already made the connection the Cell Games.' _Looking up, Gohan saw that Videl was now watching him intensely and suddenly spoke up against him.

"Hey, Gohan, you know the reports on the Gold Fighter's clothes were? They say he was wearing a white long sleeved shirt and pants. Sound familiar?"

Looking down, Gohan suddenly realized the big mistake he had made when he stopped the bank robbery. He still wore his school clothes, making him easier to recognize.

"Wow, what a coincidence, you and the Gold Fighter are wearing the exact same outfit. How cool." Erasa chimed in, preventing Gohan from answering.

"Isn't this the standard Orange Star high dress code?" Gohan asked, suddenly feeling very nervous."

"It is," Sharpener said, "but since it's not mandatory, not a lot of people obey it."

'damn,' Gohan thought, 'This is not going to be an easy day. And the lessons have only just started. Why did mom have to send me to school?'

A few hours later, as he was flying home, Gohan couldn't help but think back about his first day at school. It had started with him playing superhero than being introduced to his classmates. After that, one of his classmates had thought that he was the Gold Fighter and to top it all, he had stunned all the students and teachers twice in four hours. First had been in physics, when he showed that he had mastered the subject and had answered a question so thoroughly that he had spent the better part of the hour on it and explained the material to the entire class(who had never understood physics better before). That had instantly won him a reputation in the class. Sharpener had, after that class, started calling him Nerd Boy.

The second event had been in gym. They were playing baseball and Gohan, not wanting to stand out even more, had decided not to swing. Unfortunately, it seemed that Sharpener who was pitching didn't care much. He aimed at Gohan's head. Gohan took the hit to the head without even feeling anything. That had, in turn, caused half the class to drop their jaws to the floor. No more than five minutes after gymnastics, Sharpener had approached him with the request to join the Boxing Club. Sharpener was captain and said that anyone with a hard head as Gohan might make a decent fighter. He had no idea how right he really was.

But all in all, Gohan had come to a conclusion about the day. If he was going to fit in, he would have to somehow distract people enough to forget the Gold Fighter. An idea almost instantly formed his head. He could draw attention away from himself and do one of the things he liked best: Helping people. With that in mind, Gohan changed course to CC. He needed to see Bulma.

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A/N: the first chapter of my 2nd large multi-chapter story is done. If you have read this please give me a review with your opinions and any points for improvement. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of it's characters. I'm just borrowing them for some fun and experimenting of my own.

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Chapter 2:

As Gohan pulled out his cell phone to call to the CC he already dreaded the person who would answer the phone. He knew who it was; it was always the same person, that didn't matter to him. It was the way that person would react when he heard what Gohan did today that he didn't like.

"Capsule Corporation main building, communications department. You have dialed a personal number of one of our employees. May I ask who you are and what business you have?"

The male spoke with a light, happy tone. Gohan knew all too well that this business attitude would fade when he spoke up.

"Hey Tom," he started, but he never got farther because he was interrupted by the man on the other side of the line.

"Boss-man, how are you doing? Why are you calling? I heard you went to high school today." The man fired questions one after the other not even waiting for an answer.

"Putting aside the fact that I'm still wondering what you're doing in school," he continued, "You have to answer me one question Boss-man." Gohan was waiting for what he knew would be coming.

"How are the babes over at your school dude? Got a date yet?"

"Tom, just shut up and connect me through to Bulma will you? I have to ask her something." It was a well-known fact all around Capsule Corporation that you had to cut Tom short or he would go on ranting all day long if he had the change.

Tom Ruiter was appointed as the main communications officer for the Capsule corporation's main building about 3 years ago, when he was 25. The reason for doing so was simple. Although he had a tendency to simply ignore all kinds of etiquette, he had a tendency to address everyone rather crude; the Dutch man was a genius when it came to communications. Gohan was addressed as 'Boss-man' for example, while Bulma was always addressed as 'The Mrs.' A nickname that had earned him the wrath of Vegeta at first.

"Gohan," the voice of his Godmother, Bulma Briefs, said through the phone, "what is it? And how was your first day at school?"

"It was fine, I kind of liked it. Anyway, is it okay if I come over for a bit? I need your help for something and I think I could pick up on some of my work while I'm at it. I know you said you'd take over some of my work, but still. It's my work and I should do some of it myself."

"Fine by me kiddo," she answered, "you know you can come over anytime you want. There isn't any of your work left to do for this week, but the kids will be pretty happy to see you again."

"I'll be right over."

"See you in a minute then Kiddo" with that Bulma. With that she killed the line and waited for Gohan to arrive.

---

A few hours later, as he walked out of his office at CC, Gohan was thrown to the ground by two little kids that had jumped him.

"Hey Gohan!" the eight year old boy said. "What took you so long to work on? Didn't Mom already do all of your work?" the boy said.

"She did," he answered, "but I still wanted to check some of the things for myself. And I needed to do something while I waited for your mom to finish up on my request."

"You could have just come and play with us Uncle Gohan" the little girl next to him spoke up.

Bra had been born about 10 months after Gohan had defeated the space pirate Bojack, meaning she was born almost a year after Cell was killed. She was just a few months younger then Goten and, already, she was almost a mirror image of her mother. The only difference was that she had her father's eye color and strong chin. As much as Bulma completely adored Trunks, Bra could do no wrong in Vegeta's eyes. While he was putting Trunks through a rough training schedule (adjusted to the fact that he was, after all, still a kid) he didn't force Bra to do anything. Gohan could remember an incident when Bra had fallen when she was out at kindergarten. Vegeta was about ready to go and blow up the entire city block because she came home with a scratch. Only Bra and Bulma calmly explaining what had happened had managed to calm him down and prevented a massive destruction. Not to mention Bulma threatening to disable the cooking bots and start cooking herself.

"I know, but I still had some other work to do as well. Besides, now that I'm free we can go play."

"Hey kid, I've finished your suit." Bulma spoke up from behind them.

"Really?" Gohan asked. Both of the kids looked a bit disappointed that Gohan didn't miss. "Let's go then. I'll go and try it on right now. Come on guys." With that Gohan stood up with Trunks hovering near him and Bra sitting on his shoulders.

Bulma led him to her lab and handed him a simple watch. The simple fact that it didn't belong to some expanse company name was enough to tell Gohan that this watch did more then simply tell time.

"So, what does it do?" he asked.

"Press the red button and see. But first get my daughter of your shoulders." After Trunks had helped his sister down, Gohan pressed the button. His clothes changed instantly to a whole new outfit. Checking himself out in the mirror Gohan couldn't help but be pleased with the new look.

He was wearing a black body suit that was so tight it was almost a second skin. The only area that it did hide a bit was the crotch, something Gohan was thankful for. Besides the body suit he also wore white gloves and a green tunic over his torso and a helmet on his head. Attached to his shoulders with the gold-colored buttons was a big red cape. The helmet left the lower part of his face open, meaning he'd have to mask his voice on his own. His eyes were covered behind a black visor, making it impossible for outsiders to see through it. Above the helmet there were a few antennas placed.

All in all Gohan could only think one thing of his new outfit. _'Cool!'_. The kids' thoughts about the outfit were something else though. _'He looks funny' _Bra thought, while Trunks was a bit more direct. _'He looks like a total idiot. Dad's going to die from laughter when he sees this.'_

"Thanks Bulma, it looks great. Just what I had in mind. How do I change back to my normal clothes?"

"Just press the blue button. Now I've build in a few features for you. When you're wearing that suit, all calls to your cell phone will be transferred to your helmet. You can phone just like when you're using a hands-free-set so you won't give yourself away too much. Now I think you should be going, your mom is going to get worried if you stay gone for much longer."

"You're right. Thanks again. See you two next time."

"Right, bye." Trunks said.

"Goodbye Uncle Gohan, see you next time" Bra said, right before Gohan flew out the window.

---

As Gohan flew over Satan City again on the way back home he noticed a commotion on the street. Looking down he saw a car riding way too fast in the city, almost hitting both pedestrians and other cars alike. _'It's a miracle no-one got hurt yet.'_ Gohan thought.

'_Well, I wanted to distract attention from the Gold Fighter, might as well start now.'_ With that he quickly dropped down and landed on the streets right in front of the car.

The driver noticed the strange man in black and green suddenly dropping from the sky, but he was way too late to hit the brakes. He closed his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the bloodbath this would become. As soon as he closed his eyes however, the car jerked forward violently. Looking again he saw the strange man with a foot on the front of the car. The entire car appeared to be dented around the man's foot.

Coming over his initial shock, the man jumped out of his car, followed by his friend and started yelling at the weird man.

"What do you think you're doing, jumping in front of a driving car like that? You could have given me a serious trauma with that you idiot."

"I should be asking that question to you, good sir" Gohan said, making his voice a few octaves higher to mask it, "What do you think you are doing driving like that in the city. You could have hurt someone. Follow the rules of traffic, they exist for a reason." Gohan said. As soon as he was finished however, both men suddenly collapsed with laughter.

"What on earth is this guy saying. And what are you wearing?" one of the men asked in between laughs. "I Think," the other answered, also looking for breath because of his laughs, "this guy wants to play superhero. You've got a name, Greenboy?"

"A name, good point. I hadn't thought of that yet." Gohan said, as he realized it. Immediately he started thinking. _'A nice, cool sounding name to go with my superhero persona.' _He thought. _'I know.'_

"I am…" he said, his voice taking on an overly dramatic change. "The Great Saiyaman".

As soon as he finished speaking, both men laughed even harder. "What kind of a name is that?" the driver mocked, all the while laughing. It was the last straw for Gohan as his temper suddenly fired up. He slammed his foot down with more force then he intended, trying to get their attention again. The result was a big crack in the concrete and the entire crowd gasped. The drivers suddenly stopped laughing as well.

"I put some thought into that name!" Gohan yelled as he slammed his foot down again. "Stop laughing!" As he looked around he saw that he had caused a massive crack in the ground and the car had become trapped in it. Feeling sorry for the unneeded damage he did to the car, he walked over. Both drivers jumped aside quickly as he calmly made his way over. He picked up the car with one hand and placed it back on save road easily. As he turned around to face the driver he saw they were already on the ground, bowing as low as they could go.

"Please forgive us. We never intended any harm to be done. We're very sorry" They quickly said.

"Just be sure to follow the rules of the road next time. I don't want to catch you doing bad things again." He answered, before shooting of into the sky. The police had arrived at the scene and the drivers would be taking in by them. Justice would be served to them. pleased with his performance, Gohan quickly flew home, intend on telling his brother and mother about his exciting first day of school.

---

Gohan's family had reacted exactly as he thought they would. His mother wasn't happy with it, but agreed as long as it didn't interfere with is studies and he'd keep the number of missed classes to a minimum. Goten looked like he had heard that he would have three birthday parties in a row when he heard his brother had become a superhero. He thought Gohan's outfit looked really cool and loved the name Saiyaman.

He had stayed up late with both of them discussing what he should and shouldn't do with him being a superhero, a student and an executive of CC.

The following morning Gohan arrived a bit early to check if there were any places near school he could easily use to fly from and to, disguised as Saiyaman. It would certainly remove some of the travel time. He could reach Satan City in about half an hour when taking it easy, but inside of the city, he had to walk. That costs him another 15 minutes.

'_Well,' _he thought,_ 'time to start school and hear the rumors about Saiyaman'_

---

Videl Satan was pissed. She didn't like other people doing things for her. She was too proud for it. Yet yesterday, her job had been done before she could even arrive. TWICE, in one day. The day hadn't even started yet, but already she heard rumors flying around about the new superhero. A rather fuzzy picture was taken, showing the town's new superhero, going by the name of Sa-something-man. She had heard, but was too angry to really care.

As she walked into the classroom she saw Erasa had asked going to join them again. Truth be told, Videl didn't really mind. Because of her job with the police she was always a bit behind with her schoolwork. The teachers knew that and always gave her a break with the marks, often gaining more points then someone who had the exact same answers. She had tried copying Erasa's answers one time and she had scored a C+ while Erasa only had a C-. The explanation the Gohan had given on physics yesterday had helped her understand the stuff they were supposed to learn a lot better. She thought he explained it a lot clearer then the teacher, even answering a few questions that were being asked, both from the class and the teacher. There was no way on earth she was ever going to ask for someone to help her out, but with a little luck Erasa would ask and Videl could listen in. And he, unlike most other persons male or female, didn't immediately start treating her like a princess because of her father. Videl hated being treated like a princes almost as much as being helped with something.

The day progressed without any real problems, with the exception of Gohan's weird reaction when someone said that Saiyaman's name was 'Singingman'. Her silent hope that Erasa would ask Gohan to explain stuff was answered and Videl's mind was currently at an overflow about all the stuff Gohan had told Erasa and Videl. She was sure that eventually even Sharpener had started to listen. He really knew _everything_ about any school subject, yet he completely failed to notice Erasa's advances on him.. She understood why he had gained perfect scores, he was almost the image of the perfect nerd. Bad social skills, but insane knowledge. The only thing off was that he was rather tall, along with sharpener he was the tallest guy in class actually, and the fact that he was quite good-looking, according to Erasa and almost all the other girls in the class. It wasn't until after lunch that her watch suddenly started beeping, indicating that the police needed her help _again_.

The captain quickly informed her of a gang taking a bus full of senior citizens hostage. She quickly jumped up and ran out of the classroom to go help out. Once on the roof she de-capsulized her jet copter and jumped in. she started the engines and set course for the buss station. After her father had approved of her acts as a crime fighter he had pulled some strings so she could have a jet copter pilot license and be allowed to fly in the city even though everyone else had to wait until they were 21 before being allowed to even try piloting one of these things. That was one of the few things Videl actually liked about being a celebrity, you get advantages.

Just before she could arrive however, the captain called her again. The gang had taken the bus and drove out of the city, towards some of the cliffs only a few miles removed from town. Videl quickly changed course to where her objective was now heading.

When Videl saw all the police gars going at top speed on a single car road outside of town, Videl knew she had reached her destination. She quickly speeded on towards the bus with the hostages. Just before she reached it however, she noticed something on her radar. Right behind her, there was another flying object approaching fast. Videl assumed it was just the news crew, coming for their story.

As she approached the bus, one of the crooks tried to shoot her. in her jet-copter she easily evaded the badly aimed gunfire. When she was hovering above the bus, she pressed the button to turn the copter back into a capsule. As she landed on top of the bus, she quickly grabbed the capsule and put it back in her pocket.

As soon as she put it in her pocket however, she had to jump back. Bullets were again being shot at her through the roof of the bus. Moving quickly, she jumped back a little and immediately moved to the side of the bus. She moved quickly and kicked through the window easily, throwing herself with the force. The shooter was stunned by her appearance for a second and raised his gun to fire at her.

That second was all Videl needed to close the distance and swiftly placed a powerful knee in his crotch. She had long ago learned that fighting by the fair rules of Martial Arts didn't always work with crooks like this. She grabbed his gun and tossed it out of the window. Quickly turning around, she dashed towards the 2 other gang members. One of them was short and the other was a giant. The giant was driving and as soon as Videl got close both the giant and the dwarf were involved in the fight. With her far superior abilities as a fighter, Videl easily defeated the two, knocking them both out cold.

It was one of the seniors that suddenly asked her a question. "Videl, dear, now that you've knocked out the driver, who's driving?"

Turning she saw that the massive robber still had his foot on the pedal and the vehicle was now going at top speed, right towards the cliff's edge. Not being able to drive a car, let alone a bus, Videl did the only thing that she could.

She screamed as the bus flew over the edge, waiting for death to come claim her in a big crash. It never came.

When Videl noticed that she wasn't falling anymore, she started looking around for an explanation. It came when she heard a voice, sounding to weird to be natural.

"Is everyone all right in there?" She quickly moved to the source of the sound and found a strange person _flying_ underneath the bus, holding it up with his hands. _'Who's this guy? And better yet, how can he do that?'_ she thought, although she was eternally grateful for him appearing at that moment.

The strange helmet-wearing man kindly put the bus back on the ground causing not even the smallest of shocks. As soon as there was save ground to stand on all the elderly people stepped out of the bus and started taking pictures of there savior. Looking him over once, Videl saw that this person was defiantly male and, from the look of his arms, no stranger to work outs.

"My apologies for scaring you all like that. But I feared that, if I stopped the bus before it went over the cliff, the sudden stop would have caused quite a bit of damage." He said, again speaking overly dramatic.

"Thank you." Videl said as the old people finally calmed down a bit. "But who are you?"

"Of course." He said as he took a few steps back. "Allow me to introduce myself." Suddenly he took on a strange pose, turning around to show them his back and bended over, looking back at them upside down through his legs. His arms were both spread out beside him.

"I am…" he changed pose, now standing on both his legs again, crouched down and held his hands above his helmet, fingers pointing towards his nose. "The Great Saiyaman!"

'_Way too cool! She'll never be able to recover from that'_ Saiyaman thought.

He was right in a way. Videl was stunned from how Saiyaman had acted, but it wasn't because it was so cool. _'This guy is a total moron.'_ she thought.

Before she could voice her opinion, however Saiyaman jumped up and flew of. _'What the? That's the second superstrong superhero that flies of in two days. What's going on in this city?'  
_

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A/N: Yes I know that Bra is not supposed to be born yet until well after Buu, but I like the idea of having a young, cute and sweet girl in the story. And yes, Marron will still appear, but I just like Bra for some reason and I wanted her in the story. And yes, Tom Ruiter is an OC of mine, created purely because I wanted to put a Dutch character into one of my stories and this one was where he best fitted. You can flame me for him all you want, he's not a major character anyway. 

And a final yes, I did put Saiyaman in the story. I left him just like in the anime because I like his character(and it seems I'm the only one) and I need him for stuff later on in the story. Not to mention he also shows just how much Gohan knows of 'cool things' in modern world.

I'll try to keep the updates at a regular interval of once a month, that way P'll have plenty of time to write the new chapters and work on my other fanfictions.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: welcome to Triple Identity chapter 3. I have a few things I want to say before I move onto the story.

I have stated at the end of the previous chapter that I would update the story once a month, so I have plenty of time to write ahead. However I have summer vacation right now and am bored as hell, so I decided that for the months July and August I'll update this story twice a month.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dragon ball Z series or any of characters. I am simply using its characters to enjoy myself and hopefully some others as well.

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**Chapter 3:**

"So Videl, what was he like?" Erasa asked. The police and the news crew had already made it public knowledge that the new superhero had helped public favorite Videl. "I bet he's really strong, and super-cool."

"Well, he's strong I'll give him that. Being able to lift a bus full of people isn't an easy feat. But for the rest he's a complete idiot." Videl answered irately. Erasa and the media had a perfect hero image created in only a few hours and it seemed that Videl, being the only one to actually see him act stupid, knew the real deal. He was a masked clown. A very strong, flying one, but a masked clown none the less.

School had finished minutes ago and the radio broadcast about the new hero had just aired. Some of the senior citizens in the bus had told his name to the press and what it was he had done. They conveniently left out the weird posses bit, leaving the media with an image of a super-strong, masked flying hero. It was a major source of annoyance to Videl.

Then there was also the strange thing about that Gohan guy. According to Erasa he had disappeared a few minutes after Videl did to use the restroom and only got back minutes before her. When Erasa asked him about it, he said that his work had called him when he was on the way back and it took him a while to finish his business. He looked fairly honest when he said it, which meant that Sharpener's claim of him being nothing more then a delivery boy was not true. Because a delivery boy is not important enough to be called in the middle of a school day and be on the phone for almost half an hour. Being on the phone that long meant that whatever was being discussed was important and couldn't wait.

---

As he was flying home, Gohan thought about what had happened that day. School was going normally, Videl got a call from the cops and he followed her almost immediately. It was the first time he was assisting her in her crime fighting and it appeared he couldn't have chosen a better time to do so. First day on the job and already he had saved a few dozen lives. Good start.

Videl was also completely smashed by his poses. He knew he was too cool to be true as Saiyaman, but he didn't think he'd actually cause her to drop her jaw to the ground like that. Still it could only mean good things. When Erasa and Sharpener questioned him on being gone for so long, he said his work had called him. It wasn't actually a lie, because crime fighting _was_ now his job, so he could tell it to them with a straight face. He just hoped he could keep up both the appearance of the superhero and the collage student.

---

It was now 2 months since Gohan had started being Saiyaman. He had finally built up a good rhythm with school, being a superhero and his work. He had just been given a second position by Bulma, because she was doing all his work for him and he had to do some kind of work otherwise the board of directors would have him fired. There was some help needed in one of the departments and Gohan didn't mind it all that much. Most of it was simple check up anyway. And he felt like he had to at least do something for the royal paycheck he was receiving every month.

The things at school were going great as well. The teachers were getting accustomed to him leaving when lessons had only just begun and returning very late. They were still surprised when he answered every question they asked with an answer more extensive then they could even understand(it was especially funny the first time he did it in chemistry, the teacher there was an arrogant prick according to Erasa) and score perfect on every test they he ever made. The cause of all this was very simple. His mother refused to simply let him be and constantly told him to do some homework even when he had already finished everything in class. As a result he had already done every single assignment for the rest of the year. It probably also helped that he had to learn this stuff when he was 10, but who cares? At this rate he'd be done with all the homework for the rest of his education at the end of the year.

His relation with his classmates was kind of strange. Erasa had stopped clinging to him as much as she did in the beginning, but was still always asking him to explain things. She was nice enough, but somehow reminded him of a combination of #18 and Bulma when they went to Namek. Very chatty, crazy with shopping (he had made the mistake once of going on a shopping spree with the rest of their group) and a bit of an airhead, but overall a very nice girl.

Sharpener had taken to calling him Nerd-boy instead of his real name, but Gohan didn't mind. He had earned Sharpener's respect at some point because, as much as he tried to act like a macho, he had at times asked Gohan to help him with some schoolwork. Of course, he did this when he was certain no-one was watching them. He was too busy keeping up the cool act, but had warmed up considerably to Gohan. Another thing that Gohan noticed was that on every single P.E. lesson they had where teams were involved; Sharpener first picked Gohan to join his team.

It was with Videl that his relation was most strained. She still thought him to be a coward, because of their first meeting, but she didn't exactly treat him coldly. Just different from his relation with Sharpener and Erasa. And, unlike either of them, Videl had never asked for his help with schoolwork, even though she was a bit behind in her homework. He did notice that every time he was explaining something to Erasa (Sharpener never asked in classes) she was paying more attention to what he was explaining then to the teacher. And according to some of the things a few teachers said, none of them had ever performed better before in classes.

High school wasn't so bad at all. It was a far more relaxing way of making friends then doing so because you were about to fight against some kind of maniac that was either about to kill all life on the planet, or simply blow up the planet itself.

Today would be a bit of a special day, because it was Videl's birthday. Everyone at the school (he included) had bought her a gift and a few reporters were supposed to come to the school later and interview a couple of people about Videl. Gohan was suddenly very glad he let Hercule have the glory of defeating Cell. He didn't think he could handle all this, but Videl seemed to be used to it.

"Hey Videl," he said as he approached her, "Happy birthday." With that he gave her the present he bought her and shook her hand.

"Thanks." She said, before almost tearing the paper of the gift. As she pulled out her gift, she couldn't help but grin a bit. He couldn't blame her either. Erasa had told Gohan about what Videl always got for her birthday. "Most people," she had said, "give her stuff like clothes, perfumes and jewels and stuff, but Videl doesn't like that stuff all that that much. She's as crazy with shopping as me, but she never likes all the clothes she gets for her birthday. What she does like is things to help her out with her training and fighting. She just doesn't say that and smiles politely and says thanks to everything she gets." With that she suddenly broke out into a huge smile. "And I often have a lot more clothes and jewels after Videl's birthday is passed. She doesn't like it, so she gives it to me. I love it, it's like I have two birthdays in a year."

Videl also had the habit of opening the first few packages, the ones she received from her friends and family a lot quicker then all the gifts she got from unknown people. So Gohan was glad so see her ripping apart his package so eagerly. She was grinning when she pulled out the two new fighting gloves. They were a new model, only for sale for a few days yet. There was a small bit of steal ingrained into the knuckles so a punch would strike harder. Videl had wanted to buy them immediately, but Erasa had swayed her from it, by reminding her of her birthday. Gohan had bought them for her the same day.

"So this is why Erasa wouldn't let me buy them. Thanks Gohan." She was still grinning a little mad even as she was trying them on. "Yeah, you're welcome Videl. Just try not to have to use them to quickly ok?" He still didn't like the thought of Videl fighting crime. She was just a normal human with no energy control. Unlike Krillin, Yamcha or Tien she was vulnerable to bullets. But she was as stubborn as his mother and Vegeta combined, so there was no way he was going to get her to stop.

"Oh, I see Gohan already got you your gift. Too bad, I wanted to be the first." Erasa said from behind them, putting on a fake pout. "Well anyway girl, here you go." With that she gave Videl a rather large box, wrapped up in gift-wrapping paper. The paper lasted about 3 seconds before Videl had it al torn apart, revealing a shoebox. Looking inside, Gohan and Videl both saw what Erasa had bought for Videl. A pair of sport sneaker that, according to the add, were supposed to be so light that you moved faster then ever.

"Thanks Erasa, they look pretty good." With that she leaned over and gave Erasa a small kiss on the cheek, as Sharpener walked over, also holding a gift. After Videl had torn the paper of that as well it revealed some easily attachable wrist and ankle weights. Videl gave each of her three friends a thorough 'thank you' and invited them to the party that was going to be held at her house that weekend. Her dad had invited everyone that was important so she wanted to have a few friends over as well. That way, she could have some fun as well.

Near the end of the day (after Videl had received so many gifts that even Trunks would be jealous) the news crew finally appeared. They had supposedly waited for Videl to finish her classes before starting the interview.

"Videl, how does it feel to be 18 years old" the female reporter asked.

"Exactly the same as being 17 did, only tonight I'll have gotten a sore back from getting all those presents" she answered with a small laugh.

"Yes, receiving so many gifts must be quite a burden on your back." The reporter answered. "But do you have any special plans to do this year?"

"The same as always" Videl answered, "trying to do better in school and prevent more crimes."

"So the arrival of the Great Saiyaman hasn't changed anything in your decision? He had after all been a great help in the fighting of crime lately." It was the same question they always asked these last two months and Videl was getting sick of it.

"I'll give the same answer I always give." She said, obviously irritated. "The Great Saiyaman has indeed been a good help in fighting of some of the criminals in this town, but unless he takes of his helmet there is no way I could trust a guy like him. He refuses to tell people who he is and in that, he is just like the criminals he fights."

After that the reporter asked a bunch of other questions but Gohan didn't really paid attention anymore. Videl didn't like Saiyaman at all. She often claimed things like that, but he was till wondering _why_. Sure Saiyaman doesn't show his face or his identity, but surely she could understand that? Just because he hid his face didn't make him any less of a good guy. Why couldn't she just understand and accept that.

"And this is the newest addition to my small group of good friends here at school." Videl said, pointing at Gohan. He hadn't been paying attention to the interview and apparently, Videl was introducing her friends. "He's a bit weird, but is a very nice guy overall. He also scores the highest marcs on the continent and, for as far as I know the entire world."

The cameraman had now focused his attention at Gohan, who was nervously scratching the back of his head while giving a weak grin.

"How did you become connected to Videl?" the reporter asked. "Videl doesn't usually get close to other people, what was different for you?"

"I don't know really." He answered, not knowing where to look. "Erasa just kind off pulled me in with the group and before I knew it, I was friends with Videl."

With that the reporter turned her attention back to Videl and fired more questions at her, Videl calmly giving answers to all of them. Gohan was glad that Bulma had kept his job a secret from the public. If she hadn't he'd have to make public statements like that all the time. The thought alone was enough to scare Gohan.

"Okay Videl." Some of the newspaper reporters said. "Now for one last shot of you and your friends, it'll make a great front page picture." With some guiding from the photographers Sharpener, Erasa, Videl and Gohan all stood together, Videl and Erasa, being shorter then the two males, in the front. Sharpener and Gohan stood back to back. Sharpener had his arms crossed again and Gohan was scratching the back of his neck. Both giving a grin at the cameras. Sharpener's grin was one filled with confidence and arrogance and Gohan's was, as always, with a bit of embarrassment. Videl and Erasa were standing in front of them. Erasa had her arms crossed over her belly, pushing her chest up a bit, and Videl was standing with one arm on her friends shoulders, giving a smile to the camera.

Several photo cameras flashed, taking the picture at almost every possible angle. This would probably be everywhere in the newspapers tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: now you'll have to wait for 2 more weeks before I update the story again. And please leave a review telling me what you think of the story and what you think can improve about my writing capabilities.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z or any of it's characters, I am borrowing them to enjoy myself and hopefully others as well.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

A shadowed, short figure looked at the TV silently. The show that was on was most interesting. It showed the daughter of Hercule Satan; Videl and her friends. It showed the person to whom he was going to take revenge.

"Soon," the figure spoke, "you will pay for your father's actions."

The figure chuckled and listened to the show. "And this concludes the show concerning Miss Videl Satan, crime fighter of the year, and her life at school. From Orange Star High, this was Rebecca Reader, Celebrity News. Good day."

"Orange Star High is it? Perfect. I shall execute my plans immediately." With that the figure turned around, and walked to his workshop. "I should have known that _his_ child would attend so high a facility. But I have only just awakened from my years of sleep. There is no shame in having not noticed a few minor details, yes. My plan will be successful nevertheless.

"Now let's see." He said, looking around in the room, surrounded by strange pods, each of them bearing a number. "Shall I release them?" he asked himself, taking a moment before answering. "No, No. No, there is no need for anyone to see the beauty yet, oh no there is not. I think I will resort to something a little less… brutal. Yes, that plan is perfect, yes." With that, the figure broke into small chuckles as he walked over to the computer. A little research was needed in order to complete his plan.

---

"Can someone please tell me," Gohan asked out loud, sounding depressed "What on earth we are doing here?"

"Simple." Sharpener said, sounding just as depressed as Gohan. "Vi needs new clothes for her birthday party tomorrow and she's going to the mall with Erasa."

"Remind me never to go shopping for clothes again. It's a lot easier if my mom just buys me stuff." Gohan gave out a memo to himself out loud, causing some of the girls walking through the mall they were sitting in to chuckle.

"It's not the shopping that's so bad, Nerd-boy." Sharpener said. "It's the fact that women in general take hours to pick out clothes and these two are some of the worst. Better get used to it. That last time you joined us on a shopping spree was a mild one. This is what it's like on an almost monthly basis."

"I'm getting a new respect for some of my father's friends who have to go shopping with their wives." Gohan said. He couldn't help the thought of Krillin and Vegeta being dragged from one shop to the next by Bulma and #18. He was still grinning like a madman when the girls decided that it was time to show up again.

Just when Gohan was done thinking, Videl and Erasa came, giggling and gossiping to each other as they came over to the guys.

"Oh good, there you guys are." Erasa said. "Here Sharpener, would you please carry this for me while we go to the next shop." Without even waiting for an answer she pushed all three bags into Sharpeners hands, and happily started walking, even whistling a tune while doing so. Without saying or asking anything, Gohan lifted Videl's bags from the ground and followed after a still complaining Sharpener.

"I don't remember asking you to carry my bags Gohan." Videl said. "I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself, thank you very much."

"I know." Gohan said, but he made no motion to return her bags. "But if my mom finds out I let a friend drag these bags all across the town she'll have my head. And she'll be even worse if that person is a girl, no matter who it is." He gave her a small and embarrassed grin,

As a smile form on Videl's face, she answered him, with a small wink.

"Ok, fine. Just this once."

---

After a talk with Bulma, one of Gohan's worst fears had been confirmed. Hercule really had invited all the important people to the party at his house, which meant that Bulma would be there as well. She had told him that she wouldn't bring Vegeta or the kids along, due to Vegeta not being able to stand more then 10 minutes of Hercule without blowing something up and the kids' inability to behave at a party. She had assured Gohan she would act as if she only barely knew him. It wasn't that what had Gohan worried though. It was HIS acting ability. Would he be able to act as if he didn't know his godmother? He didn't think so. And besides that the outfit he was wearing didn't help his nerves either.

His mother had insisted that he dress in a full suit, because of all the important people that would be attending the party. Gohan thought Goten had been very right when he said his brother looked like a penguin. The suit itself was provided by Bulma, at his mother's request, and was worth more money then most people make in half a year, so he hoped that it would be good for the occasion. With that, Gohan jumped off and flew towards Satan City and Videl's Birthday

---

Gohan awoke the next morning in a bed he did not recognize. Looking around, he saw he didn't recognize the room either. The suit he was wearing to Videl's party last night was lying on a chair next to the bed, while he himself was wearing nothing but his boxers. Getting up from the bed, he walked over to the window. Opening the curtains he saw a familiar sight. He saw the streets of Orange Star City staring back at him, while he was on a fifth floor room. Remembering last night's party he tried to discover what had happened to him.

He had arrived at Videl's house at 7 sharp. He met Hercule who, in no uncertain terms, made sure that Gohan wouldn't try anything with Videl. After he and Videl saw each other they had a little laugh about each other's suits, saying they didn't suit them at all. He remembered Videl wearing a very nice and expansive looking dress that was a complete contrast of her personality. After Videl had given him a tour of the house, Sharpener and Erasa appeared. Each of them had made some jokes about their outfits before going in to the party. Oddly enough, Videl stayed with Gohan all night even when Erasa and Sharpener went for a dance together. He remembered her telling him that she did not dance and that if she was alone even for a second she'd have a conversation with some rich guy or their kids and she didn't want that.

He was pretty certain he had met Bulma at some point and she acted like she hardly knew Gohan. After that, Sharpener had given him and the girls something to drink. That's when everything started getting fuzzy.

He had just put on his shirt, still trying to figure out what had happened, when the door was opened slowly and Videl walked in.

'_Good thing I just putted on my pants and shirt' _he thought. _'If she saw all my scars, especially the one left by Cell, she's get curious again.' _thinking back to the fight that had his father killed and left the scar on his left shoulder he subconsciously started rubbing his shoulder.

"Nice to see you awake at last." Videl spoke up. Her voice sounded like someone was giving him a pounding on the head. He usually ignored pain of all kinds, a habit he had picked up due to all his fighting, but now he realized his head was hurting pretty bad.

"He Videl, what happened?" He asked, stopping the rubbing of his shoulder. Even his own voice was sounding like a jackhammer hitting him on the head hard.

"Well," She started "the punch that sharpener brought us was spiked. There was some alcohol in there." Gohan now noticed that Videl wasn't looking all that well herself.

'_Wait a second? Alcohol?'_ Gohan thought_. 'Don't tell me I got drunk and started telling things.' _

"I have to say though, Gohan." Videl continued, unaware of Gohan's new fears. "I never imagined that you of all people couldn't take alcohol. With your appetite I thought you'd be able to drink the whole bowl on your own and not feel a thing. Never thought you'd get drunk on just a few drinks."

"Wait. I got drunk last night? How'd I end up here? Better yet, where is here?" Gohan asked, hoping he had somehow in his drunken state managed to get to this room and undress himself. He could not stand the thought that someone had seen all his scars.

"Well, when we realized you were dead drunk we decided it would be best if you spent the night at my place. The advantage of having a 70-room house is that there are always a few bedrooms to spare. My dad agreed under the condition you stayed far away from my room."

She took a deed breath before continuing. Gohan thought she didn't sound all that pleased with the way her father agreed to things.

"Anyway," she continued, "Sharpener and I dragged you to this room when he ordered me to get out of the room while he putted you in the bed. He's the one that pulled that suit of you when you had already passed out. And I have to say mister, for such a skinny person you weigh a lot!"

"Guess I have to thank him for it later then huh. I feel pretty stupid. Thanks for getting me here though. And for letting me stay the night." Gohan said, slowly. His thoughts however were racing.

'_Sharpener undressed me, meaning he saw all of my scars. From the way she was talking he didn't tell Videl yet. __That's good I have to get him to be quite. Wait a second…_' a thought occurred to him. A very scary thought.

"Videl," he asked, knowing his voice sounded like he was ready to pee his pants, "Did anyone tell my mom about this?"

"Of course not." She said "I called your mom last night and said that you were too exhausted from the party and that my dad agreed to let you stay at my place tonight. She sounded really glad about it too."

"Yeah, she probably got the wrong idea about it." He said. He was glad he had already told Videl and the others about how his mom was always telling him to get a girlfriend. He wouldn't have to explain it to her now, with his head the way it was. Suddenly a thought occurred to him again.

'_Oh no. Mom knows I wouldn't get exhausted from a party like this. I can fight the strongest guys in the universe for seven days straight if I have too, so there's no way she's going to believe Videl's excuse. I just hope she won't be too angry when I explain everything.'_

"By the way Videl, did I do anything stupid yesterday?" he asked, half fearing the answer.

"Except make a complete fool of yourself on the dance floor you didn't do anything too stupid." She said. "You were not half as bad as some of the old men when they get drunk. Much more funny though."

---

That Monday, Gohan still felt terrible. His mother had heard of Gohan getting drunk from Bulma, but she was not half as angry with him as he had expected. Bulma also told her a story involving Vegeta, a nice candle-light dinner with a glass of wine and some nasty after effects. The bottom line of it was simple; Saiyans could not take alcohol. But then again, the fact that Videl had called had probably helped with his mom calming down. She had made some wrong assumptions about it and after Gohan had, finally, managed to ensure her nothing had happened his mom wasn't angry anymore either. But it didn't mean that the shouting she HAD done before didn't hurt like hell. Even today he was still hurting.

It was still the first class of the day, physics, but Gohan felt like he could sleep through the entire day. He was too tired to listen too the teacher, not that he needed too, or even keep a sharp look on his surroundings. He just wanted to sleep. And apparently, Videl, Erasa and Sharpener thought it was very funny.

'_I guess I can't really blame then.' _Gohan thought,_ 'I suppose it should look pretty stupid. A guy with my appetite, height, and weight not being able to take alcohol. It's a good thing that the crime rate was lowered so much the last few weeks. I really could not go out and be the cool hero today.'_

Ever since he started playing Saiyaman, about two and half a month ago now, the crime rate in the city had dropped considerably. The crooks did not like doing their crimes when they had to deal with the police, Videl Satan and the Great Saiyaman. And for that he was glad. But he still wanted to sleep some more

Because he was still half asleep he didn't notice what was going on until something strange happened. All of a sudden all noise in the class stopped. _'Wait a second. It's never this quite in class.'_ He thought. Trying to raise his head so he could find the reason for the silence, he raised his head. What he saw was absolutely not what he had expected.

---

Videl was having trouble containing her laughter today. Not only was the thought of Gohan's weird dancing style at the party still fresh in her head, the way Gohan was acting today was also something she would consider as very funny. She and Erasa had both been surprised by Gohan sheer lack of alcohol tolerance at the party. After he had woken up the following day she took pity on him. She herself hardly ever drank alcohol because it had bad effects on her body and thus her fighting abilities. As a result she too couldn't really take it too well. But she was small and light weighted. Gohan was neither of those two. So it was very funny to see how her friend was still feeling the effects of two glasses of punch after almost 2 days.

'_As much fun as it is seeing mister perfect have a flaw.'_ She thought. _'I'd better pay attention. It doesn't look like Gohan will be up for his normal explanation today.'_

About halfway through the lesson, something happened Videl would never imagine could happen in this day and age. Without warning, the classroom door was thrown open with a slam. Before the teacher could make a protest or anyone could even react, seven men walked into the room.

The first of the men, who looked like he was the leader, was about as tall as Gohan and was the only one not wearing a mask of some sorts. His outfit was also in sharp contrast with the others. He wore simple jeans, with black army boots underneath them, while his upper body was covered by a tight orange shirt showing he was not stranger to a gym. The shirt, in turn, was covered by an unzipped blue jacket. Both his eyes and his millimeter-high hair were green, though his eyes were of a much lighter tone. He was smoking a cigarette and had a gun strapped to his back. A gun Videl did not recognize, but from the look of it was the same type of full automatic rifle that the two masked men also carried.

The two masked men that had walked in next to the men were both wearing tight body suits, showing another familiar at a sports-gym. They each held a gun in their hands, aiming it towards the class. Their suits held a belt, probably with extra ammunition from the looks of it, with a marking at the clip. Taking a quick look she discovered it was a sign she had never seen before. There were two C's standing there, like they would in the Capsule Corporation's logo one slightly covering the other, and behind that were two D's in the same way.

Before anything could happen the entire class was completely silent. Six different men were now pointing their guns at the class. From the corner of her eye Videl could see that Gohan had looked up and saw everything as well.

"Ok, everyone." The green haired man spoke up. His voice was loud and a bit heavy, while laced with an accent, alerting everyone. "My name is Mick Johnson and, as of right now, you people are my hostages"

* * *

A/n: I would like to thank my Beta IllusionSky for the hard work she has done beta-reading this chapter for me. as always, reviews are welcome and appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the Dragonball, DragonballZ or DragonballGT universes. I wish I did, because in that case Gohan would be a lot cooler in the series.

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**Chapter 5**

"My name is Mick Johnson and, as of right now, you people are my hostages."

Before anyone could react to his statement, a man ran into the classroom. He was carrying the microphone that was used whenever a public statement to the entire school needed to be made. It was linked to all the speakers in the entire school, meaning that anything said into that microphone was heard all over the school.

"Thanks." Johnson said before ordering the man away. "Now everyone listen up." This time he was talking into the microphone, making sure everyone could hear him.

"As you will have noticed by now your school has been taken over by armed men. I'll explain everything going on. As of right now I, Mick Johnson, have taken control of this school. Me and ten of my men are former members of a super special elite unit. Make any wrong moves and we will show you just how special. I'd prefer it if you didn't though. We have taken over the school and so far nobody has been hurt. I, for one, would like to keep it that way, so don't try anything heroic ok? You can recognize the special force men by the strange gun their carrying. A little present we decided to take with us when we left. Everyone who is carrying normal guns is an ordinary mercenary, but their bullets are just as deadly. So once again, please don't try anything for your sakes and ours."

He took a little pause to let the info sink in before continuing.

"Now, I bet you guys are wondering why your being taken over. I'll explain it to you. That way at least you can brag about it in the bars when you get out of here. Me and my boys have been offered a shitload of money in exchange for 1 little job. We take over your school and then await further orders. We do know why we were sent here but we don't know for who. We are ordered to abduct, and if necessary execute, a certain person from the student body, but I have no idea who. You guys have an idea who could have made enemies willing to pay 20 million dollar to get you whacked?" when he received no answer, Johnson continued.

"Anyway, back to business. As it stands we did not shoot anybody and nobody resisted. That's good for you and us. Good for you because it means that you all walk away unharmed, except of course for the poor soul we came here for. Lucky for us, because the legal punishment for hostage taking is a lot less then the punishment for hostage taking AND injuring or murdering the hostages. So I'll repeat that we all walk away better if there are no heroics. Now, we will be here for a few hours before I get my follow up orders so why don't you all relax. Enjoy the day off you get and make sure you remember everything that happens here so you can show of at the bar next time you're there. Just don't try to leave the classroom you're in unless ordered to do so."

With that said he walked over to the teacher's chair and sat down, placing his feet on the desk. A few of the mercenaries walked up and grabbed a few chairs for everyone else to sit on, making sure all of the hostage takers were comfortable.

'_What's going on here?'_ Videl thought. _'That guy has made it perfectly clear to everyone who he is, that he's a special force member and why he's here. Why did he say all that? Is he an amateur or something? Never tell you victims your name, isn't that some kind of a code among crooks?' _

Beside her, Gohan was slowly pulling something out of his pocket, but Videl could not see what it was. Erasa looked absolutely scared and Sharpener was on high alert as well. _'What's Gohan doing?'_ she though as he now moved his hand to his ear, acting like he was scratching it. She had never seen the look on his face before. The look was determined, more then she had ever thought he had in him. 'The guy's a coward whenever there's trouble and now he got a determined face? What's he playing at?'

Gohan quietly leaned his head back on his arms, hiding his left ear. The ear he was scratching before. Leaning closer, she thought she heard him talking slowly. _'Of course!' _she thought as realization hit her._ 'Gohan has pulled the hands free set of his phone and is now calling someone on the outside for help. As always, he was doing the smart thing'_

---

Gohan was not happy with today at all. Not only was he still tired as hell from his hangover, his school was being taken over by armed forces. The man who was leading them was someone Gohan had recognized before he even spoke up. During his talk to the entire school Gohan had recognized the crest these guys had on their outfits. Moving as subtle as possible, he quickly scanned his surroundings.

'We're sitting at the back of the class; there are two doors to the room. The one these guys came in from and the one in the back, nearer to us. Seven of them are in here. Nothing I can't handle even when I'm as tired as this. But it'll show them who I am. Not something I want to do. I guess that leaves one option. Pay these guys back with their own money.' He secretly, making sure the hostage takers didn't see him, pulled out his head set and placed it on his left ear, before quickly placing his head back into his arms. Activating the quick dial he called the desired number.

"Capsule Corporation main building, communications department." The voice of Tom hit Gohan's ear. "You have dialed a perso…"

"Tom, be quite and listen to me for a second." Gohan cut him of.

"What's up Boss-man?" the answer was. It sounded strange hearing Tom being serious.

"I've got a major situation here. My school's been taken hostage with everyone in it."

"Sucks to be you today eh? Should I inform your mom and the Mrs.? And of course inform the press?" he asked, interrupting Gohan.

"No shut up and listen for a second will you. The school's been taken over but not by ordinary guys. From what I heard there are around 40 guys in the school altogether. I have their leader sitting in front of me. He and ten of his men are from a special force."

"I still don't see what I can do about that except inform others about it. You know the rules. No exceptions even if one of our best is being faced with a special force units."

"True, but that's the reason I'm calling you right now. They're not just from any special force. They're from the CCDD." Gohan said, finally getting to the point.

"… You wanna run that by me again boss-man?" Tom's voice sounded from the other side, for the first time in Gohan's memory he sounded dumbstruck.

"I said, these guys are from the CCDD. They're carrying CCDD crests and weaponry. You need to inform Bulma about this. The leader of this group has made it clear that they're not working under CCDD orders, so we have a couple of traitors. In total there are about 40 guys, make sure the right people know it." Having given Tom the orders and knowledge he wanted to give him, Gohan killed the connection. Slowly removing the head set from his ear and placing it back on his head, he noticed Johnson was scanning the classroom again.

"You guys seem awfully tensed up." He said. "I already said you guys wouldn't get hurt as long as you don't try anything. Be glad you're missing a few lessons. I always hated physics when I was in high school. Too damn boring if you ask me." While talking he lit another cigarette. He let the pack go around with his men before it returned to him. Looking at the students he raised the packet to them.

"Any of you guys want a smoke? I'll help you loose some of the tension. By the way, mister teacher-dude, where's an ashtray in this building?"

"W-w-well. M-m-mister J-J-Johnson we eh… We don't have an ashtray around here. Only in the teacher's lounge. There's a g-g-general n-n-no-smoking rule in the school." The teacher answered, obviously afraid that he was going to be die.

"Too bad about that rule. I'm sure you won't mind ignoring it for just today won't you." giving the teacher a sharp look he turned towards on of the mercenaries. "Hey you," he said "Go to the teacher's lounge and get us an ashtray ok."

"Got it!" was all the man said before turning away and walking out the door.

"While we wait for that guy to get the astray I want to ask you kids a little question." Johnson said, turning to the rest of the class. Immediately everyone tensed up. He slowly raised his left hand, revealing his pack of cigarettes. "Any of you want a smoke?"

When, again, no-one answered after a few seconds he placed the pack back in his pocket, while at the same time mutter. "No smokers? Bunch of goody-two-shoes."

---

Back at the Capsule Corporation, Tom Ruiter was sitting in his chair at the communication centre. The info that Boss-man had just given him was taking some time to sink in. while he was still wondering what exactly it meant, members of the CCDD going traitor while they were supposed to stay loyal at all times, he did the only thing he could do to save the Boss-man. He followed the protocol.

"Hello, this is Trunks. You have either dialed the wrong number or you're plain stupid. Give up and don't call again." The annoying son and eldest child of the Briefs family picked up the phone.

"Kid I don't have time for you jokes. Give the phone to your mom." He answered. _'Well, that's a first. Never thought I wouldn't have time for fun.'_ He thought, grinning at the irony. He, Tom Ruiter the most carefree and fun-loving employee of the CC, was ordering someone not to joke around.

"Mommy, it's for you. It's that strange man that lives inside the phones!" he heard the kid yell. He had hoped the boy would stop calling him that. The brat's father, the Mrs.' husband, had told him that when he was angry with him, again.

"Hi Tom, what is it?" the calm voice of Bulma could be heard, taking over the phone from her son.

"Mrs. We've got a problem. And when I say problem I mean it with a capital P." he almost shouted.

"Calm down, what is it?" she asked. Her tone instantly switched to a worried one. Only the worst things could bring Tom of his easygoing chair and on fire.

"I just got a call from the Boss-man. His school's been taken hostage by CCDD Personal."

"…" Apparently, even the great Bulma Briefs needed a few seconds to recover from that.

---

"I just got a call from the boss-man. His school's been taken over by CCDD personal."

'No way! Why on earth would the CCDD try to take over a high school? Something's not right here.' At the simple line Tom said, Bulma's thoughts went out of control. Almost hearing his boss' brains working through the phone line, tom continued.

"According to Boss-man, they've made very clear they've left the CCDD but they took their weapons and uniforms with them. Any suggestions Mrs.?"

'_This is turning into a fine mess. Let's see what else Gohan told Tom.'_

"What else did Gohan say about the situation Tom? And I need you to tell me everything." She ordered.

"He couldn't say much, but his school was taken over by about 40 guys in total, 10 of them CCDD and a leader person. I don't think we should rule out the possibility of a traitor captain. But this is bad! What do you want me to do Mrs.?"

After taking a second to think, Bulma concluded that there really were no other options left. "You're a real bringer of good news, Tom, did you know that?" she said sarcastically. "Since we're dealing with traitors and a possible captain, we don't have any other choice."

As she took a deep breath, realizing just how much her next order would mean and how difficult it would be, Tom spoke up, realizing her intentions.

"Hey wait a second. Don't tell me you're going to send _that_ guy in?"

"We don't have any other choice. We're going to alert all the CCDD personal of the main building for action. And Gohan's going to have to brief the situation. Send him a message. We're going to put him in direct contact with the Commander."

Having said her order, she heard an answer from Tom before he did his job. As rarely happened with him in great shocking situations, he suddenly reverted to his old language.

"Medelijden met de tegenstander."

---

A few minutes later, still sitting in Class, Gohan's phone vibrated once, signaling it had received a message. Leaning back in his chair, he slowly pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the message under the table, making sure not to move too suddenly, so the mercenaries, Soldiers and Johnson down there didn't notice his movement. He quickly glanced over the message.

_Boss-man I told the Mrs. about your problem. She's sending in some serious help. I'm going to put you in direct contact with the big boss. He'll deal with this himself. Get ready to make a long talk in exactly 30 minutes from now, at 11:30. Good luck pal._

'_Great.'_ Gohan thought. He could easily understand what Tom had said, even though nothing was written directly. That was a show why Tom was head of his department. He knew exactly what to write to make a message clear to one person and as unreadable as possible to any other.

'Don't tell me Bulma's planning on sending the Commander in! This is not good. Well at least that would make sure this problem is solved completely. Problem is, how are we going to pull this off?' as Gohan was analyzing the situation, thinking of all the possible scenarios, he wasn't paying a lot of attention to everything else anymore.

---

However Videl, who was sitting beside him, hadn't been doing nothing either. The school had been taken over little more then half an hour ago now and she had finally managed to get the Police Captain on the line through her watch's communication system.

"Videl, what's wrong? You don't often contact us through this alarm line." The captain's voice spoke up. Ironically, this was the first time he didn't sound panicked when Videl contacted him.

"Yes, I have a major problem. About 30 minutes ago, my school was taken hostage by a group of mercenaries and some kind of special force unit." She whispered back. When the police captain didn't answer, she quickly continued. "I don't know how many people there are, but I have the leader in front of me and there are a total of 7 guys in this classroom alone. I think that's a bit more then the other classes have, but I'm not sure. Before you hit the alarm, I need you to do something for me captain."

"What is it Videl?"

"I need you to check out two things. One is the name of the leader here. The other's a crest that the special force guys are wearing. Got something to write it down with?"

"Yeah. Say the names and then I'll send in our force to try and get everyone out." This was starting to sound more like the captain that she knew. He was sounding panicking but, strangely, still in control. '_Well,'_ she though, _'the guy didn't make captain only for eating the most donuts.'_

"Don't send any men just yet. Anyway, the leader's name is Mick Johnson. Got that?" after the captain confirmed it, she continued. "The mark on the crest has 2 C's standing in front of 2 D's. The C's are overlapping each other, as are the D's."

"From what you tell me it looks kind of like the Capsule Corporation logo. Does it?"

"Yes, exactly. I knew I saw it somewhere before." Videl almost yelled, finally realizing where she knew it from. Then a second thought occurred to her. "But whatever you do, keep that away from the press for now. We don't want to give Bulma Briefs any trouble."

"Right. But why did you say I shouldn't send anyone in? We should stop this before something happens."

"That's exactly the point." Videl said. "When the police moves in I'm afraid these guys might lose their cool. So keep the police outside to a minimum of visibility and try to sneak some people into the building."

"Right. We'll try that, but as soon as the press gets wind of this we have no choice but to pull out everything. We probably don't have a very big timeframe to work with here."

"I understand captain. Send me a message when you know more about this Johnson character or those Special Forces. And send it to my cell."

"Roger that Videl. I hope we can get you all out unharmed soon. Good luck."

"Thanks." With that Videl killed the line.

Looking around, she noticed a few things. Johnson was still sitting in front of the class, smoking yet another cigarette, his feet still lying on the table. One of the soldiers was busy cleaning his gun. Obviously these guys weren't expecting any trouble anymore. Making a double check, she saw that some of the mercenaries were looking around the class with a look of hunger in their eyes. And from the 4 mercenaries that had walked in, 3 were looking at Erasa like that.

'_At times like this, it's a problem Erasa looks as good as she does.'_ Videl thought. Looking at her friends, she saw that Erasa herself was trying to hide behind Sharpener, but it wasn't working too well. Her outfit for today was also worse then her normal outfit. Because of the nice weather Erasa had putted on a tight shirt, with a V-neck to show her cleavage as well as a tight short jean. The effect it had on males was undeniable. Unfortunately for Erasa, most of the hostage takers were males.

Looking around some more, she saw Sharpener was focused as well, most likely preparing for trouble for when one of them would try to do anything to Erasa. It was a look she had often seen on his face when Erasa, or even Videl herself, was in danger. But what surprised her was the look on Gohan's face. Gohan had always been a coward, running at the first hint of trouble. But today, he didn't waist a single second.

As soon as trouble started he snapped out of his headache, showing that he was at least no stranger to ignoring pain, and was the first one to call outside. She had seen him read a message on his cell phone a few minutes ago and now he looked even more serious then before. The look he was wearing was unlike any she had ever seen on his face, even more serious then at the most difficult test. The look itself was one of calculations. The same kind of look that she knew she and her father had when they were facing a challenge with a plan. And, even more strange, the look was, somehow, much more natural and fitting on Gohan's face then it ever was on her own or even her Father's face.

Then something else dawned upon her. Gohan was the only person in the entire room, besides Johnson and his men, that was not looking stressed out. In fact, he looked relaxed and, almost, fearless.

---

"This is getting boring." Mick said as he stared out the window. It was about an hour after he had managed to take over the school and still no police or press or anything. By now at least one of those kids should have been able to send a message outside to warn the cops? _'my employer said he wanted the humiliation of the target to be public. Unless there's a lot of press he won't send me the next orders.'_ As he was thinking over his options he finished of his cigarette. Pulling out another one, he realized the packet was empty already.

'_Damn!' _he thought. _'It's not even noon yet and I already finished a whole pack of smokes? This'll be a long day.'_

Having enough of the silence, he quickly made a decision. Walking towards one of the kids at the front, he bended over to look the kid in the face. he looked like he was about to wet himself.

"He kid, do you have a cell phone?" he asked, trying to sound as nice as he could be.

"Y-y-y-y-yes S-s-s-s-sir." He student answered, shaking like hell.

"Good, I take it most of you have one. Use it to call the cops. Tell them what's going on here. And someone please call the newspaper and TV-stations. I'm getting to damn bored!"

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A/n: personally i thought that this chapter was really hard to write, because I hardly had any inspiration to work with, but you're welcome to agree with (or contradict) me. please leave a review telling me what you though of the chappy. Next time will be the last of the speedy updates, after that it's back to the 1-update-per-month I wanted to use in the first place.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dragonball Z universe or any of it's characters. I'm simply borrowing them to have a good time.

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**Chapter 6**

"What?" Gohan exclaimed. This was getting weirder every second. Beside him, Videl's mind was racing.

'_We've been taken hostage by a guy that gave us his full name and his objective, tried to get us all to calm down instead of panic and now he's asking us to make sure that the outside knows? What's going on here?'_

"I see." Gohan said, his voice sounding like that of a person who just solved a difficult puzzle.

"See what?" Sharpener hissed. He was obviously trying to stay cool and had trouble not shouting in Gohan's face.

"I think I know why he's doing all this." Noticing the surprised looks his friends were giving him, Gohan started to explain.

"Just as Johnson had taken over, he explained why he didn't want anyone hurt. If they get arrested, the sentence for taking the hostages with no injuries is pretty low. However, once murders and injuries are involved, the punishment increases severely. Until now, there were no police or anything involved because all the students were too scared to call. In other words, no-one outside the school knew of it. So why would he want the police to be here? I've been wondering. But it makes sense if you think about it."

"No it doesn't. I don't see any kind of logic in this, Gohan." Erasa answered, with a look of disorientation.

"Think about it Erasa. He said that he was here on orders from an unknown client. That probably means that his client will contact him and not the other way around. And if that's so, the only way for the client to know is if he or she saw it on TV. And you can't get TV crew's over here without police."

"Right." Videl muttered sarcastically. "Although it is possible, I think it's too farfetched. No one is going to take over an entire school without knowing who they're working for. That's just plain impossible, no one is that stupid. He's playing with us, giving false information."

"No I don't think so. This guy doesn't seem like the type to lie. I think he's… oh wait, it's time." Before he had a chance to explain his reasoning though, Gohan's cell phone went off again. Quickly putting in the headset of his phone, he bended his head downward a bit, hiding it in his arms again, and started mumbling.

From what Videl could hear, it sounded like Gohan was the only one doing the talking. '_Well,_' Videl thought, '_he did say that he needed to give a briefing to whoever or whatever he tried to contact just now._ Videl could only hope that the help he had underway was good. Good enough to take down a small army of soldiers.

After a few minutes, Gohan's mumbling stopped.

'_Finally,_' Videl thought, '_he's going to let the other person talk for a bit. I didn't know that Gohan could hold a monologue like that. It's completely different form his normal behavior._'

However, Gohan restarted all his mumblings a few seconds later, although this time around he did listen more to the other side.

Again a few minutes past and Gohan finally removed the headset from his ear. Taking caution to stay low and out of sight, he suddenly started scribbling his pencil rapidly over the papers in front of him, the lines quickly forming a total. As Videl was looking at him, another question entered her head.

'_What's he drawing?_'

---

"Operator."

The cold mechanical voice sounded from the box, startling Tom. He knew very well who it was. That box was a special line for only one person. A person that even Tom, being the head of the communications department, knew nothing of. This was the strongest soldier in the world, his identity hidden behind his job, with his voice masked by a number of voice disruptors to make it sound completely mechanical.

It was the voice of the Commander of the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department.

"Sir!" Tom answered. His voice would become masked as well. It was a part of protocol. You don't know someone when you can't hear their voices or hear any emotions in them. It would keep people from getting close and, thus, being able to spill secrets.

"I have just been in contact with our source, as requested by the president," the voice went on without waiting for another second, "With the source's knowledge of the target building, we will make this mission simple and clean. Alert all of the active CCDD personal. It appears we have a traitor captain. Have the entire Japan division gather at point Sigma-143-960-346, carrying full weaponry and both ammunition versions. Three personal trucks and five on motorcycle. Order them to be ready at the rendezvous point in 5 hours. I will meet them there and inform them of the mission. Our source will meet us outside of the target to give me a final briefing. Any questions?"

"No Sir. Perfectly clear. But I think 5 hours is a little short Sir." As always, the Commander was strictly business. No connections to anything. And he was demanding a lot of things. Most of the soldiers in the country were on standby function spread out across the nation.

"I do not ask you to think, Operator, I ask you to do your job and contact my men. They will be ready in 5 hours. They are members of the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department for a reason. End of message."

---

'_Ok, that's over with. Now on to the next part.' Gohan was glad he had all the communications done and the basics for the plan laid out. Now came the tough part._'

Making sure it would work.

This plan would be difficult to pull off, even for him. Analyzing the enemy was Gohan's forte. But when it came to strategy, he had yet to meet a person that could outwit Vegeta. Not for the first time since he met the man, he wished that he was here.

'_Taking down 40 guys is no problem for me. But if I fought them like this, my identity would be revealed. Let's hope this plan works._'

Having just finished his drawing, Gohan looked up. He saw his friends at his sides and hoped that this wouldn't be too much for them.

"Hey guys. Listen up." Noticing that he had the attention of all three of his friends he spoke again.

"I've got a plan, but I'll need your help for it to work."

"Let's hear it then." Videl answered.

---

Hearing the sirens coming in the distance, Johnson looked up with excitement

'_Finally!_' he thought. '_These Japanese cops are way too lax. It's about time they showed up. Now all we need is some media attention and we'll get our follow up orders._'

Smiling that things were still going his way, he started to think of a way to quickly get some media attention without increasing the punishment in case things went bad. It never hurts to have all bases covered. Maybe that was why, despite his laid-back attitude, his men always called him a worrywart. He was a bit of a pessimist, always looking at the bad side of things.

'_But,_' he reasoned in his mind for what felt like the millionth time, '_if you're preparing for the worst, it feels all the better when everything goes for the best._' Again, he couldn't keep a smile from his face as he finished yet another cigarette. He had finished considering all his options for non-punishable options and he had decided what he would do.

'I _think that'll do just fine for some media attention._'

With that he turned towards the class he had taken hostage, ready to tell them what he was about to do. Before he could even speak up though, he saw a girl stand up and walk down the stairs located at the side of the seats. Just seeing the girl's face he remembered her. he had to struggle not to break out into a huge grin.

'_Videl Satan? This just keeps getting better and better_.'

---

Videl felt all eyes turn towards her as she walked down to meet the hostage takers at the front of the class. She knew that what she was doing was crazy. The guy probably wouldn't agree with her deal anyway, but she needed to buy Gohan enough time.

'_How strange,_' Videl thought as she neared the end of the stairs, '_All of a sudden, all of the hope rests on the shoulders of a coward like Gohan. But then again, when all this started he was the only one to stay calm and think. I just hope his plan works._'

"What's up Miss?" one of the mercenaries's asked as Videl gave him a once over. In her mind she quickly assessed him.

'_He's not wearing one of those crest and he's not dressed like our soldier-boys here. Which would mean he's a normal guy. Nothing worth worrying about._'

"I have a question I want to ask your leader." She spoke up, her voice a lot more confident then she actually felt. "So let me through and everyone stays happy."

The mercenary, being surprised by the confident statement for a second, and was about to retort, most likely trying to teach her a lesson, when all of a sudden Johnson spoke up.

"You have a question you want to ask me? Then come on over, and maybe I'll answer it for you." there was obvious amusement in his voice.

The mercenary stepped aside, not wanting to get on the bad side of his temporary boss. As confidently as she could, Videl walked to the teacher's desk that Johnson was sitting behind, his black boots still resting on the desk itself.

"What was your question Missy?" he asked, raising one eye to look at her.

"I've been wondering ever since you guys walked into the room, but what on earth is this CCDD badge you're all wearing? Is it the organization that you belong to? The one that gave you guys your weapons?"

"Now, now Missy," Johnson said, an amused smile on his face as he blew out some smoke through his nostrils. "I think you asked for 1 question. I'll answer your second one." He waited a second as he removed the cigarette from his mouth, ticked it above the ashtray once to remove some of the ashes before speaking up.

"Yes, the CCDD is our old organization and we did take our old guns with us as a goodbye present. If you want to know any more you'll have to earn it."

When he said the last part, he raised both his eyes to Videl and quickly scanned over her body with an almost lecherous look in his eyes.

"There is no way I'm going to do anything like that for that information!" Videl almost yelled as she saw the look in his eyes. "I'll just wait until this entire affair is over and you guys are behind bars and then I'll check it out, thoroughly."

"Hahahaha!" all of a sudden, Johnson broke out in a fit of laughter. "Sorry Missy, you're not my type. I'm not interested in you small, flat chested girls. So I guess the deal is off. Now please get back to your seat."

He turned away, placing the cigarette back in his mouth. Videl didn't move an inch and she knew Johnson was still watching her from the corner of his eye.

"Is something the matter Missy?" Johnson asked after a few long seconds. "I told you to go back to your seat."

Her eyes brightened up and smiled to herself, '_I hope Gohan was right about this guy!_'

"I have an idea." Videl said abruptly.

Her thoughts raced through her mind. '_I just hope that Gohan's idea works. Then again, whenever he's serious he always cracks any problem in less then a minute. Why would now be any different?_'

And somewhere, from the deepest parts of her mind, she could hear a voice tell her the reason of her doubts.

'_Because Gohan sucks with people skills,_'

"We can make a deal about the question. If I beat you in a fair one-on-one fight, you tell me everything I want to know about this CCDD." Videl said, trying her best to sound in complete control of the situation and not like her knees were about to collapse under her own weight.

"You think I'm stupid or something?" Johnson said as he again turned his chair to face the petite girl. "There is no way I'm going to fight against a fighter of your level when I'm in complete control of the situation here."

'_I knew it. Gohan should not be trusted on his interpersonal skills. I just hope he doesn't decide to shoot me on the spot._'

"But I am bored as hell and in need of something to really draw the media's attention. How about we change the deal a little?" Johnson continued. "You and one of my guys, duke it out in front of the class, no weapons or interference. Pure fighting. If you win, I give you all the intel on the CCDD you want. However, if you lose, you'll become my ticket to quickly calling out a lot of media. A celebrity like you should almost instantly draw all the TV-crews here right? Do you agree?"

'_All I have to do is defeat one of these guys?_' Videl thought. '_I can do that. I'm one of the best fighters in the world, these guys will be nothing._' Whenever it came to fighting, Videl had the nasty habit of letting pride take control of her better judgment. Often with good reason.

"You're on!" she agreed in less then a second.

* * *

a/n: unfortunately I have to tell you all this will be the last of the quick updates. Next week my school starts again and I'll reduce the updating schedule to 1 time a month, so I'll have plenty of time to continue writing in peace.

Anyway, as always please tell me what you think about the story in a review.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer; I don't own DBZ, nor anything or anyone in the Dragonball Universe. I'm just borrowing them for a bit of fun.

**Chapter 7**

"Alpha-4, drop your weapons and get ready for a fair 1-on-1 fight, hand combat. No weaponry and no killing involved."

"Yes sir." The smallest of the four CCDD-men responded, "Please wait a second." He addressed Videl, before turning around. He removed the massive gun from his back, placing it against the chair. Following that, were his handgun, a combat knife he kept in his boot, and a few clips for each of the two firearms.

Meanwhile, Videl had put her new fighting gloves on, ready for the fight. The man turned around and dropped into a stance.

'Let's see here.' Videl thought. 'Judging from his build, I'd say he's also Asian, he's much smaller then Johnson and his muscles aren't as developed. He probably fights with speed and technique, just like me. I don't know what stance that is, but I'll just take the first strike!'

Her assessment complete and strategy thought up, Videl charged at her opponent. Her right fist at eye level, aiming for a strike to the head. Her opponent charged her as well, his fist lowered, most likely aiming for an uppercut.

Seeing his attack coming, Videl waited for the last second before the attack hit. Instead of throwing the punch like she intended, she threw all her weight back, turning her charge into a back flip, aiming her feet at the small man's neck.

Seeing the attack coming, the man known as Alpha-4 quickly stepped aside, avoiding the kick by an inch. Using his momentum, he went for a fast kick to the girl's back which was wide open during her backflip. Videl responded by raising, from her perspective, one arm to block, standing on 1 hand, and quickly spinning around. With the spin, Videl quickly lowered her body, making her rotate on her shoulder, and stretched both her legs for a powerful low kick. The two point attack hit its mark, giving Videl the first hit. Alpha-4 had raised his arm to block the attack to his ribs, making sure his air supply would not be in danger, but he could not block the attack to his hip. The power behind the kick was much more then he would have guessed from the girl's frame, but it still wasn't enough to cause serious problems as long as she didn't attack any vital area's or a joint's weak points.

'_I'm not my dad,_' Videl thought, happy with herself for scoring the hit. '_So I don't have the sheer power needed to knock you out right away, I'm too light for that. But I can aim to attack your weak points. It doesn't matter how hard I can hit if I hit those. Against the normal thugs I won't even have to try, I'm plenty strong enough for them. But you're not just another wimp are you, mister special ops? Your reaction and movements just now already proved what I though: you're an expert martial artist, just like me._' caught up in the thrill of fighting another high level martial artist for the first time in a while, Videl couldn't stop another thought from slipping through; '_This will be good!_'

Standing back up, Videl dropped back into her stance. This time, Alpha-4 took the initiative, charging towards her. About 2 meters before he reached her, still being well out of the reach of Videl's punches and kicks, he suddenly jumped up. In mid-air he raised his right leg, attempting to use the speed from his jump along with his weight into a single kick. Easily seeing the slow and powerful attack coming, Videl sidestepped and thrusted her leg up, intend on interfering her opponent's path.

Instead of hitting him as hard as she had intended, Videl's leg was grabbed by Alpha-4 before his foot even made contact with the floor. Then, never letting go of her leg, the short man rolled forward as he made contact, using his momentum to drag Videl with him. As he came up from the small roll, he let his arm continue moving while the rest of his body stopped. With the sudden stop of momentum, Alpha-4 pulled Videl once more and released her overhead, throwing her across the room like a javelin.

'_damnit!_' Videl was quickly becoming furious with the small man. She managed to prevent getting to much damage by rolling as soon as she made floor contact, but it didn't stop her temper.

'_No-one… No-one throws ME around like a rag doll!_'

The serious of maneuvers from Alpha-4 had Videl being dragged to the ground with him, being rolled over, dragged across a room and ultimately, thrown away. Never before, had Videl felt so humiliated in a fight.

'_You are going down! And I'll make sure you go down in pain bastard!_'

Taking a running start, Videl took a jump and tried to hit her opponent with a flying kick to the head. Alpha-4 however, already had a countermeasure ready for her.

As the young woman came flying past him, he again spun his body, this time around his leg, as he gave her a quick kick. The spinning caused him to narrowly evade the attack, and his kick had almost hit its mark. But he had rotated to fast and, instead of hitting her in the lower regions, Alpha-4's leg made contact with Videl's leg in mid air, sending both fighters of course.

Alpha-4, lacking the mass he intended to hit, lost his footing for a second and fell backwards.

Videl, meanwhile, had gone spinning like mad as she flew towards the wall.

'_Not bad! I didn't expect a move like that._ _I've never seen anything like it._' She thought as she landed feet first onto the wall. She made a vertical crouch to absorb the damage from the flight and, using her legs as springs, instantly pushed off the wall. As she flew back at her opponent, she swiftly slammed her fist to his face.

Alpha-4, still in the process of regaining his balance, could not react in time to evade the girl's attack. The wall had been closer then he would have liked and the girl reacted much better then he had anticipated. He bent backwards a bit, trying to reduce the damage. Unfortunately he had not been fast enough and received a full blow to the jaw instead. He was send backwards even more as a result, further then he had intended to go.

Videl didn't wait for another chance; she pushed the advantage she had as soon as possible. Before Alpha-4 could recover, or even hit the ground, she had spun around and met the back of his head in a light rising kick with her heel, using her arms along with her left leg to stabilize herself. The damage from the kick would make it impossible for the man to act for a few seconds, yet no permanent damage would be done. She pushed off the ground with her hands, getting back on two feet again and turned to face her opponent. Indeed he was wobbling a bit.

'Good! Now that he can't react, I finish this.'

She punched with her left fist, aiming for the weak spot placed just underneath the ribs, hitting him on the liver. With his brains shocked as they were, Alpha-4 could not react as he felt his organs being attacked, nothing but his abdominal muscles protecting them. Videl quickly followed up with a right fist to the Solaris Plexus. Hitting the bundle of nerves on his torso caused him to again remain open. Videl send a quick kick to the back of his knee, forcing him to kneel, followed by a full force kick to the torso. His ribs had absorbed most of the damage from the kick, ensuring no fatal injury, but it would hurt the man like hell and he had been forced to exhale. The force of the kick itself also sent the man flying back, lying face-up on the floor.

As Videl relaxed her stance, she could hear a single person clapping slowly, almost mockingly as her win.

"I'm impressed." Johnson said. "You really make some good entertainment. You've won the first round, but let's see how you do in round two, eh?"

"What do you mean round two? I defeated him didn't I?" Videl said.. She should have known that this man would play tricks on her. She just hoped that Gohan had been given enough time to fulfill his plan.

"A fight does not end…" a voice spoke up from behind her, a scrambled but still clearly audible, Chinese accent clear for all to hear. As she looked back, she saw Alpha-4 stand back up, his hands on his hips in an attempt to regain as much air as possible in a short time.

"…when one of the opponents simply falls down on the ground, miss." He finished, dropping back into his fighting stance.

Videl answered by dropping in her stance as well, all the while confused. '_What's going on here? I defeated tons of guys way bigger then him with that combo. He probably has trouble just standing up straight! This fight is mine!_'

With determination, she rushed at the Chinese man and sent her left flying at him. He reacted much quicker then she thought to be possible as he grabbed her hand and pulled her off balance. He threw his other hand towards her in an attempt to hit her on the throat. Even in her off-balanced state, Videl manage the swing her head to the side, dodging his strike, and swiftly gave retaliation with her free hand. Alpha-4 was forced to release her hand to evade the attack before answering with a counter.

And just like that, the fight had suddenly become like an all out brawl. Videl threw a punch, Alpha-4 evaded and countered; Videl blocked the counter and send a kick that in turn was blocked. Alpha-4 threw punches that didn't hit their mark, only to dodge Videl's lightning fast kicks a second later. Each continuously attacked and defended in a fight of extreme high speed. To the untrained eye, it was difficult to keep track of the movement, but to them it would seem most like a dance.

A dance where a single misstep would mean immense pain, that is.

As it was, the damage Videl had inflicted upon Alpha-4 was still significant, more so then the what he had inflicted upon her. He had been unable to completely recover from it in those few seconds she had looked away. And so, he was forced to slow down for a second. That second was all Videl needed. She quickly threw her fist to his belly, forcing him to bend over and lose a lot of air in the process. Gathering her strength for the final blow, she swung her arm to his face, bent her elbow to lock his head in her arm, and swept his legs away with one foot. With a swing of her arm, she released her strength and shoved his head to land on the ground, hard. The resulting blow knocked the man out cold.

'_Not my normal style, but it works well enough!_' Videl thought, pleased with herself for winning the fight, before turning around.

"How's that! This fight is over!" Videl exclaimed, now that she knew for certain her opponent was knocked out.

"I have to say, you're abilities are impressive, Missy." Johnson said as he walked over to do a check up on Alpha-4.

"Hey you!" he said, addressing one of the mercenaries near the door. "Get him in a chair. And you get some water to wake him up." He ordered his men around before turning to Videl.

"Now I believe we had an agreement. I'll live up to my end of the bet." He said as he pushed his half-smoked cigarette out in the astray.

'_Good. Now I'll finally get some answers about who these guys are._' Videl thought.

"Well, you can start by telling me just what this…"

Videl didn't have a chance to finish her sentence because, without any warning at all, Johnson's right fist had been smashed into her face. He quickly, almost instantly, followed it up with a left hook to her jaw and finished with a right uppercut to her jaw.

"I'll keep my end of the bargain, don't worry. I just need some media attention first." he said to Videl, but the damage he had inflicted with those three punches was so great that she could not realize what it was he was saying, nor could she react to it.

As the entire class looked on in shock, Johnson grabbed Videl by the hair and dragged her to the window. Looking outside, he saw two cars from TV-studios along with about a dozen police cars. He would need far more if he were to draw the attention of his employer. Still holding Videl by the hair, the opened the window with his free hand and yelled outside to get the attention of the cops.

"Hey ya goddamn Japanese incompetent excuses for law-enforcers! I got a little something I wanna show you!" he yelled out the window. The police and reports alike looked up; camera's zooming in on his location at the top floor of the building, as he pulled Videl to the window. Seeing the girl that had single-handedly defeated and brought in more criminals then half the police force did in a years time, had exactly the effect Johnson wanted it to have. The policemen were shocked and the cameramen zoomed in on Videl's face, her nose still bleeding from his punches.

He drew his handgun and placed it at her temple. Everyone in the classroom and down on the streets gasped and held their breath.

"Now you listen up cops! If anyone even tries to get into this building without MY authorization, I shoot her and I'll kill another student for every minute the intruder stays in this building. I want you to completely obey anything I say or I will shoot her. Understand?!" he yelled out the window. All the cops and reporters were too scared to make a sound or move a muscle. Satisfied with his achievement, Johnson walked away from the window, closed it and released Videl from his grasp.

He turned towards the man that had moved Alpha-4 to a chair and again gave the lowly mercenary some orders.

"Get the blood of her and put some ice or something on the places I hit her. She'll probably be completely recovered in a few minutes. I want her cleaned up by then."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get your panties in a twist." The man muttered, looking away from the students, obviously annoyed he had to divert his attention away from them again. Looking around, Johnson saw that most of the hired mercenaries were all looking at the students. All of there eyes were focused on one particular area as well. Even one of his own direct subordinates, Alpha-10, was looking that way. Following their gaze, Johnson quickly saw just what it was that had drawn their attention.

'_I'll be damned._' He thought. '_I gotta do something about that._'

"Hold on a minute Missy." He said to Videl. "I'm going to ensure my men stay focused and then I'll tell you all about the CCDD."

With that he turned away from Videl and began ascending the stairs of the student seats, until he came up to the final row. The row where Videl and the others usually sat. But now, with Gohan sneaked out and Videl at the front of the class, only Sharpener and Erasa were sitting at the end.

As Johnson reached them, he looked at Erasa for a few seconds. The tension in the entire room was thick enough to be cut by a knife. Sharpener's fist was tightening more and more, Videl could only just comprehend what was going on and Erasa was too scared of the man in front of her to do anything. When Johnson spoke again, he had a strange, wicked smile on his face as he addressed Erasa;

"So Missy, you've been distracting my men. Well I can't have that; I need them to stay at full focus for this mission."

---

As Gohan silently closed the door behind him he exhaled a sigh of relief. The first difficult part of his plan had succeeded. He had managed to sneak out of the classroom without being discovered. Videl had been ambling down the stairs, drawing all attention on her. As a result, Gohan had been able to sneak out through the backdoor of the classroom, just like he had planned. Now he had to get out of this building to prepare for the CCDD's action. With his speed, it would be easy to out maneuver the eyes of anyone in the building.

As he pushed off, attempting to go to top speed, Gohan instantly noticed something was wrong.

'_What on earth? I should be moving twenty times faster then this! What's going on?_' stopping his dash, which was sadly still on a speed visible to the human eye, Gohan could heard someone coming closer.

'_Damn! I can't take any of these guys out or they'll know I'm here. I don't know what's going on here, but if I can't move at high speed__ I'll have to improvise for a bit._'

To his great relief, Gohan found that he could still use his energy and thus he could still fly. Hovering horizontally at the ceiling, Gohan silently made his way to the door. The man that was walking underneath him never thought to look up and, as a result, didn't see him. Moving towards the door at the end of the hallway, Gohan silently lowered down until he was hovering only an inch above the floor. He quickly opened the door, slipped through it and closed it. Making his way up the stairs, he tried to sense how Videl was doing.

Her powerlevel was slightly raised, indicating she was in a fight. Her opponent's powerlevel was lower then Videl's and from the feeling he got, she was only fighting one guy. Unfortunately he didn't have Piccolo's refined sensing ability. With the powerlevel Videl and her opponent had, they didn't stand out enough for him to keep a detailed track of the fight.

Pushing thoughts of his friends back for a second, Gohan noticed a second guard coming around the corner. He raised his body as high as it could go and again the mercenary walked past. Looking up, at the end of the hallway, Gohan saw his ticket out of the building. An opened window. Unfortunately, it was a hallway with three guards wandering around.

'_Guess I have to ensure I can move faster then they can track. I can't believe I've been reduced to this!_' Gohan thought, a shard of his saiyan pride rising. Without any of the fancy earthquakes or lightshows, he quickly transformed to super saiyan and focused his energy. Like an arrow shot out of a bow, Gohan sped past the guards and out the open window. Before they had even realized something had passed them, Gohan had shot upward towards the clouds. When he reached a high enough altitude, he quickly changed his course, facing the direction of West City.

"I need to speak to Bulma about this. Maybe she has an idea about why I'm suddenly so weak."

a/n:

Well, it's been a month now, but this chapter has been waiting for a bit longer then that. this chapter actually came to me almost naturally, so I personally enjoyed it a lot more then chapter 5. There is finally some action and next chapter will finally explain what the CCDD is.

I'll update again in a month's time, so in the meantime, please review.

I would also like to thank IllusionSky, mirrorsofillusion and Zephyr-Tai-Ji for beta-reading this chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the DBZ universe. I HAVE thought up Johnson and the CCDD myself, but they belong to the Capsule Corporation, so I still don't have anything.

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Erasa had never been so scared in her life. Gohan had sneaked out a few minutes ago, an attempt she knew was brave but lethal if he were to get caught, and Videl had fought and defeated one of the henchman of the man standing in front of her now. And mere moments after she had won, this man had taken Videl Satan out in a matter of seconds. Videl Satan, one of the strongest fighters in the world, rumored to be second only to her father, was defeated by three hits. The man, Johnson, stared down at her chest with a perverted look on his face, while Sharpener was trying to position himself between them to hide Erasa from the man's lecherous eyes.

'_I knew wearing these tight jeans and a short top was a mistake._' Erasa thought. She had already noticed after a few minutes that some of the hostage takers, particularly the normal mercenaries, had been looking at all the girls in the class with perverted eyes. Not for the first time, Erasa was unpleased with her good looks and large chest-size. Before her, Johnson had suddenly and slowly removed the ammunition clips from his jacket before tacking it off.

'_Oh no! Don't tell me he's going to rape me!_'

Before Johnson could take off more clothing or say anything, Sharpener stood up as if a nail stung him in the butt and instantly thrusted a punch towards Johnson's face. Sharpener, being the 5th nationally ranked Boxer of Japan, was not one to throw soft and slow punches, but Johnson raised one arm and let the fist slam into his elbow. Before Sharpener could make another move, Johnson sent his other arm forward, still holding the jacket. It stopped a centimeter short of his throat.

"Do that again boy and I won't stop my fist in time." Johnson's voice didn't raise a single decibel, but it only made it scarier to hear the tall, muscular man speak so calmly after defeating a nationally ranked boxer in his own game. "And I'd like to know how you'd react to someone trying to actually hurt that girl, if this is how you react when I'm being nice to her."

With that, he moved his wrist a little bit and released his jacket, making it land in Erasa's lap. "Put that on, babe."

Seeing the shocked looks on Sharpener and Erasa's faces, Johnson gave a deep sigh. "I'm not sure you two may have noticed, you are blonds after all, but I saw most of my men being distracted by those two biggies you have there. Now, I know I'm a tit-man and apparently, I ain't the only one. But as it is, I need both my men and myself to stay sharp. And with staying sharp, we can't afford to be distracted by a babe. Although if we met under any different circumstances I would be hitting on you like there was no tomorrow."

His objective obtained, as proven by the disappointed faces of both his men and some of the male students, Johnson walked down to his desk, where Videl, being placed in the teacher's chair, was sitting. He calmly leaned against the desk, before he spoke up again.

---

"You ok, Missy?" Johnson asked. '_If she has any permanent damage it'll be bad. But I seriously didn't expect her to be decked after only three punches._'

"You got some guts, asshole." Videl spat, her left eye a bit swollen from the punches. "You make me a deal, you break it and you have the goddamn nerve to ask if I'm ok?"

Videl tried to get up and attack Johnson again, but he simply raised a hand, silencing her.

"I did not fulfill my end of the deal, that's true but I'm going to tell you all about the CCDD now, so don't get all pissed yet."

"That's not what I'm talking about asshole. I won and you still used me to get the cameras over here! You broke your -"

"I never promised anything so don't even go there." Johnson interrupted before Videl could finish. "And besides, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I never said I WOULDN'T use you if you won now, did I? I only said that if you won, I'd tell you about the CCDD and if you lose, I'd use you as a media puppet."

Videl's face was starting to turn red from shear anger. This man had not only defeated her, and easily at that, but now he was also playing her like a fool. She could hardly wait for when she could pay this guy back for humiliating her like that. She would enjoy every minute of it.

"Anyway, I'll tell you about the CCDD." Johnson spoke up, seeing her fuming anger. 'Best to distract her with the info she wants and get her to calm down a bit.'

"The CCDD is a special department, aimed for a single purpose." Johnson started, "That purpose is the defending of the Capsule Corporation, hence its name of Capsule Corporation Defensive Department, or CCDD for short. It was founded about 40 or 50 years ago, back when Capsule Corporation was still young. With Dr. Briefs' breakthrough of capsulation, you can understand that a lot of other companies wanted the knowledge of how to do it. All in all, a lot of company espionage occurred. Because it was still a small company, the Briefs' and one or two hired guards were enough to keep things from getting out. That was the actual start of the CCDD. But, as you can imagine, after a few years, when CC was becoming one of the biggest companies in the world, they needed a more proficient system of defense."

Seeing he had the attention of not just Videl's, but everyone in the class, Johnson moved to grab his cigarettes. 'Wait a second. Oh damn, they're still in my jacket.'

"Can someone lend me a smoke? I left my pack in my jacket." One of the CCDD-ers walked up and gave one to him, along with a light. Videl noticed that he was the biggest of the group, although that didn't say much. All of them, except Alpha-4, were taller then the average Japanese man, indicating that they were not from the country.

"Thanks Alpha-10."

"Well anyway." Johnson continued as he exhaled the smoke. "After a while, when the company was growing so big it had multiple divisions for everything, the Briefs' daughter, who had only just been born, was kidnapped. The demand for her save return was a lot of ransom, I think somewhere around 20 million or so. Instead of paying up, Dr. Briefs instead hired an outside mercenary group to save his daughter. It was much cheaper and at least he was ensured his daughter would be given back. His plan worked and Bulma had been kept asleep during the entire affair, so she hardly remembers it. But anyways…"

another pause and Johnson took a heist of his cigarette.

"After that event, the Briefs' decided that they needed a better defense, not just for espionage but for their own family's protection as well. Using the Old Vatican in Rome as an example he created his own military force, doing nothing but keeping the Capsule Corporation and its directors save. The old man got a bit paranoid and made some really extreme demands of them. The CCDD was to be a shadow organization, on a need to know basis only. Each of the soldiers had to be handpicked by the leader, they were not to know each others names and no-one was to know a CCDD-ers real job. And the demands to even be allowed to join were pretty damn high too. In effect, he had created an extremely elite and effective combat force when he had received the approval from all the country leaders. Although, since it was basically a private army, he wasn't allowed to make it too large. He came up with a good solution though."

Another exhale of smoke and heist of the cigarette followed before he continued.

"The CCDD was to be no more then 211 members, 200 of which were the 'Soldiers'. The lowest rank in the group, but they were still extremely skilled. A single Soldier can make the Swiss guards or US Navy SEALS look like amateurs. If you want something to measure by, Alpha-4 and all the other man here are Soldiers. They are well trained in various types of battle, both close combat and gun shooting. Now, above the 200 Soldiers are 10 Captains. The Captains are the leaders of squads, consisting of 20 Soldiers each. Their skills with just about everything, lies higher then the Soldiers too, which is a must for those who want to be Captain. And just for your information, I'm a Captain myself. Now, finally we have the great leader of the CCDD, the head honcho of them all. The strongest soldier in the world, the Commander."

As Johnson exhaled some smoke again, Videl interrupted him.

"Lame name. Couldn't you think of something better?"

"I didn't make the names Missy. Dr. Briefs did years ago." he answered, sporting a grin on his face.

"Now, the Commander is something special. He's stronger then any of the Captains, far above the Soldiers. He's a tactical genius and the most dangerous person in the entire CCDD. You see, he's the only one in the entire world that knows the names of every single CCDD employee. He decides who gets accepted into the department, he decides who gets promoted to Captain and he decides who gets deployed on what mission. Like all CCDD personnel, his face is hidden and his identity a secret. But every decade or so, a new Commander gets selected. They can't stay for too long because they can get too old. About a year or so back we changed to the commander we have now and let me tell you, he is something else. A martial artist unlike any I've ever seen, probably even better then your father. But aside from that he's got pinpoint precision with a gun and excellent tactical abilities. Really what you'd call a perfect soldier."

"I don't need to hear about you being in love with your boss, just tell me more about your organization. How come all of them are called Alpha?" Videl asked, annoyance clear in her voice. Her face had turned dark at the mere mention of someone surpassing her father's capabilities in Martial Arts.

"I'm not in love with anyone missy; I just respect my _former_ boss' abilities. And we're all called 'Alpha' because we used to belong to Alpha-company. The soldiers and captains were all divided by company name. We belonged to the Alpha-company and my men are thus called Alpha-1 to Alpha-20 and I'm the Alpha-captain. Goes on like that with each of the ten divisions. Clear enough for you?"

The last question had been towards the entire class and, after he received a lot of nods as an answer, he turned back towards Videl, giving her his full attention again.

"Yeah." Videl answered, before a question formed in her mind. "If you say everything's on a need-to-know basis, who would know of the existence of the CCDD?"

"As few people as possible. Only the people who control the countries would know of it because they have to allow it. And the highest ranks in the Capsule Corporation itself also know about it, the department directors and such. Oh, and there's a really cool thing I'll tell you about. If you join the CCDD you get to use some of the best weaponry there is, all of it designed by the Capsule Corporation. And besides weaponry, we get all kinds of cool gizmo's like motorcycle's that'll go almost 200 miles per hour, watches that you can use to communicate with each other and guns that can fire three different kinds of rounds, depending on the clips you put in."

At his excitement with the weapons and gadgets, Videl spoke up again, trying to taunt him and drop his guard.

"So you got crush on your boss and you get off on high tech stuff. You do know you're weird, right?"

"No. Sorry." Johnson answered in a sarcastic tone. "There are only two things in this world that I really love. One is a good fight; I love the excitement of a fight to the finish. The other is my greatest love. Money! I joined the CCDD because it gave me the two things I wanted: A big, fat paycheck and a lot of excitement. Of course, last week I was offered an even bigger paycheck and a high level of excitement, so I accepted. Too bad it meant betraying the CCDD. When I told my team, some of them joined me and some didn't. 9 of them went with me, the others not willing to turn away from there jobs. They did keep silent towards the others though, something for which I'm really grateful."

"I can't imagine why they'd do that." Videl spat at him. "Why would anyone do a prick like you a favor?"

"Simple." the biggest one of Johnson's subordinates, Alpha-10 who had earlier offered him a light, answered. "The captain's a good leader and everyone in the squad likes him. He, and the Commander are the same in that respect. They are both natural leaders who inspire loyalty in their subordinates."

"Yeah, I totally believe that." Videl said sarcasm clear in her voice.

---

Meanwhile, Gohan was having some problems of his own. He had been flying for over 30 minutes already and he wasn't even halfway to West City yet, despite being in Super Saiyan form. Normally, he would have crossed the distance between West City and Satan City in less then 5 minutes in his normal state and not even 2 minutes in his transformed state.

'_Well, it looks like I can't ask for Bulma's advice about what's happening to me yet if I still want to be in time for the meeting with the CCDD. The only thing I can think of to get there in time is going to level 2, but if I do that everyone will think that there are major problems. I hate having to change my plans._'

Having decided what to do, Gohan pulled out his cell phone again and dialed Bulma's private cell phone number, evading coming into contact with Tom this time. it was a special number, that was only to be used in extreme circumstances, and Gohan thought this was such a circumstance.

"What's up, kid? You don't normally use this number unless there's a real emergency. Don't tell me things have gotten even worse." His Godmother's voice sounded through the machine.

"No not that, Bulma." He answered as he flew back to Satan City. "But I'm having some major trouble myself. Listen, I need you to do something for me and Tom can't know about it."

As he was flying back, at the same speed as before, Gohan explained exactly what it was his godmother had to do for him. She didn't speak, listening intensely as Gohan explained his plan. Only when he was completely done, did she speak up again.

"Got it. And one other thing; after this whole nightmare is over, you're coming in for a thorough check up, although I can take a guess at what's going on with you. I'll explain it to you after this whole thing is done." Although Gohan was curious about what Bulma was suggesting, he kept his silence.

"Thanks. Too bad though. This entire power-decrease thing makes that backup plan of Saiyaman saving the day unusable. Anyway, I'll try to come over some tonight for that physical exam, ok?"

"Sure thing."

With that, Gohan killed the connection and attempted to speed up some more.

---

"Hello, Operator here, sir." Tom had answered as soon as the lights of the special screen started flashing. If he waited for more then 10 seconds to answer the call, the connection would be broken and he'd be in some major trouble for it.

Strangely enough, the Commander himself waited for a second before starting to order Tom, which was strange enough as it was. The Commander had always had the plan completed before he even pressed the communication button and if he paused during the communications, it would mean 1 of 2 things;

Either what he was about to say was something that either the Commander or Tom wouldn't like because there were some major trouble, or he was actually forced to adjust the plan while it was still in action. Between those two choices, Tom desperately hoped it would be the first. A change of plans would mean that there has been real trouble, on the level that even the Commander didn't imagine, were present. And if the Commander didn't even manage to predict the problems, they were big, far too big for Tom's liking.

"Listen up Operator, there has been a change of plans. Due to problems our contact is experiencing, we shall change the rendezvous point. Alert all forces to report to the western outer ring of Satan City, at the main city connection with the highway. Our contact will meet us there and brief me personally on this case. We will still meet at the preset time."

"Understood, Sir. The rest of Japan's active force will meet you there."

"Excellent. Contact me directly in case of problems. Commander out."

The connection was killed before Tom could give a response.

On the other side of the line, Tom gave a deep sigh.

'_Both option! I'm really starting to think I should have called in sick today. _'

---

'_How much longer are we going to be waiting here? These guys have been in control for hours__ but nothing happened yet._'

Videl was seriously starting to become irritated. After her fight with Alpha-4, Johnson kept her in the front of the class so he could keep a better eye on her. It was already getting late in the afternoon, the sky even beginning to turn dark already, and Johnson was still sitting there like nothing was going on. So far, he had been asking questions to both the teacher and the students about various subjects, ranging from sports to the subjects that were taught at the school. These 'conversations' consisted mostly of Johnson asking questions to the students, who would quickly answering them, afraid a wrong answer might get them killed. Other then that, he had been smoking through three packs of cigarettes in these past few hours and ordered his men to get a whole lot of drinks from the machines in the cafeteria before giving them all to the class.

'_He is really trying to get us to calm down, but why? I don't buy his excuse at all. If he's so confident about the abilities of his men and the incompetence of the police, then why take all these precautions?_'

---

Gohan had been at the city edge for a while now, trying to figure out what was going on. His motor coordination was still fine, but for some reason he could only move about 2 or 3 times faster then an 'ordinary' world tournament level martial artist. And that was still far below his ordinary level.

While he was still trying to work out what exactly had been going on with his body, he was also mentally preparing for the CCDD to arrive and the talk he would have with the Commander. Taking another look at the clock, Gohan saw that it was almost time for the CCDD to appear. He quickly made his way over to the rendezvous point as he waited the last few minutes to pass.

---

As the sky outside rapidly grew darker, a combination of dark clouds and the day reaching its end, all of the policemen, news reporters and whatnot outside were still waiting as they repeatedly sent newsflashes that said the people know nothing had changed so far and the police still had no clue why the hostage taking had taken place, because no demands were made. It was at yet another needless news-reporting that Johnson's phone suddenly rang. He only gave a quick look and even quicker talk on the phone, consisting of him asking whether the person on the other side knew, followed up by a few grunts and the connection being broken.

"All right guys!" he shouted out, obviously indented to his men but said so loud everyone could hear it. "That was our mystery employer. He's finally seen the news and discovered our work, so he'll be sending our target over in a few seconds. Get ready for some action."

And just a minute later, the laptop that one of Johnson's soldiers had brought with him, gave a single beep to indicate a new message. After taking a look at the screen he suddenly grinned as he stood up again and grabbed something by his side.

"Listen up, boys and girls that came in with me," he ordered directly into a 2nd walky-talky that had been brought along, meaning he was most likely addressing everyone that was part of his squad, instead of all the other mercenaries.

"Get your sorry butts over here to come and take a look. We have our target."

* * *

A/n: and there you have it, the explanation of what the CCDD is. This was a quick release, due to TI hitting the 10K hits mark, prompting me to update the story. I will also have the standard update next week.

And on the next chapter of Triple Identity:

The Capsule Corporation Defensive Department arrives and takes action at long last. Johnson and his men start searching for their target. Will they succeed?


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ universe or any of it's characters. They all belong to someone else who has much more money then me

**Chapter 9**

The CCDD men arrived at exactly the scheduled time, just like Gohan had expected. They didn't reveal themselves just yet, but Gohan could sense the presence of stronger-then-average people around him. He received the ultimate confirmation when someone spoke up behind him.

"You are Gohan Son, employee of the Capsule Corporation?" the person who had addressed was standing behind him, no doubt pointing his gun at Gohan's back while the man's comrades were spread out and also aimed at him. The voice was hidden by a voice scrambler, standard for all CCDD uniforms, so it was impossible for Gohan to recognize the person by voice or emotion.

"Yes. I assume you are the reinforcements I requested?" he spoke as he started to turn around slowly.

"Do not turn around. You do not need to know what I look like, just follow my instructions. If you make any strange and unexpected movements we will harm you. Do you understand?"

"Very well. I understand your terms." Gohan answered, getting back to his old position, focusing his eyes on the trashcan in front of him.

"To answer your question, we are indeed the reinforcements you asked for. For the sake of secrecy we will not mention any more names here, but I have been ordered to inform you that our leader is here as well. He is waiting for you to give him a final briefing, after which he will take personal command of the mission. Any objections or questions?"

"None. Do I need to follow your orders to find your leader's location or are you going to take me there?" he already knew the answer, being well-known in all the Capsule Corporation's protocols, but he still had to ask to not raise any suspicion. After all, these guys knew his job within the Capsule Corporation. It would look strange to them if the head of the Research and Development department didn't ask about the exact procedure.

"When we are done talking, I will blindfold you. Afterwards I will guide you to the location of our leader. You are not to remove the blindfold yourself; it will be done for you. Any attempt to remove the blindfold will cause us to take action against you."

"Fine. You don't have to be so suspicious. Put the blindfold on and let's get this over with. I still have friends in there who are in danger."

The CCDD-er didn't answer; instead he pulled out the blindfold and blocked Gohan's vision completely. Feeling the man, or woman for all he knew, take him by the arm Gohan quietly followed the lead that was being provided to the truck that held the commander. He didn't see anything anymore, but his hearing had only gotten more accurate because of it. He clearly heard the first set of doors open as he was placed inside the Commander's personal van, the mobile headquarters for the CCDD.

'_Well,_' he thought to himself. _'This is it.'_

---

"That's our guy?" Alpha-10 asked, having taken a long look at the monitor of the laptop Johnson was showing to his men. He was careful not to have any of the hostages look at it though.

"Yeah. Any of you recognize him?"

"Nope." "Haven't seen him." "I'd remember a cute guy like him." And "doesn't look like anyone in my classroom." Where the response that Johnson received.

"Ok, you all go back to your stations and check carefully again. Maybe our target called in sick today or something, but I want to be absolutely sure he's not amongst our current hostages before pressuring him to come here. We don't have to get the guy on international TV."

"Understood." All the CCDD Soldiers that had come to report to Johnson turned and moved back to their classrooms to stand guard, Alpha-4 and alpha-10 the only ones remaining behind.

'He said that the target was known into that walkie-talkie while he could have just used the school's announcement system as well. Does that mean he only wanted his own men to know? But why? Aren't there too many people in the building to effectively check it with only about 8 people? Does he really distrust the others that much?'

Videl's mind was still racing as she tried to reach an outcome.

'If he doesn't trust them, why would he have so many of them watch the individual classrooms? This is completely contradictory.'

"What's with that serious face?" Johnson suddenly said as he looked at Videl. "Let me take a guess."

Still sitting in the teacher's chair, he leaned back as he exhaled some smoke again. Videl had long since lost count of the number of cigarettes, but she knew he must have been nearing the 60's by now. He extinguished the stick in the ashtray before continuing.

"You're probably thinking that I don't trust the merc's working with me because I didn't show them the face of the man we've come here for. Am I right?" Johnson paused as his cigarette died out and looked at Videl's face while he extracted a new cigarette from the pack.

"From the look on your face I'm right. You think I don't trust them enough to know who we're dealing with, but still trust them enough to look after the classes' right? Well the answer is simple. True I don't trust them enough to tell them either, but the main reason is that, if we somehow get caught, I know my men will not tell anyone who we were aiming for. I don't have that kind of insurance from the merc's. That's all."

Having said his thing, Johnson stood from the chair and watched the sunset from the classroom window.

"I don't get it." Videl suddenly said as she looked at the man just standing there.

"It's not that hard to understand you know." Johnson said surprised as he turned slightly.

"That's not what I mean. Why are you continuously going on about 'if we get caught' 'if we fail' and other stupid things like that. As much as I hate to admit it, you have organized everything just about perfectly so why are you worrying that much?"

"Ahh, the same question we all ask the Captain at every mission." Alpha-10 said from the door. "Every single time we were on a mission that was planned nearly perfect, he would always worry about the darkest possible outcome. In the end we all decided that he was simply a pessimistic bastard." The large man ended with what would pass as a chuckle through the voice masking.

"Yeah, Alpha-10 is right. I just worry about everything too much. But that's because even the slightest problem can destroy an operation and nearly kill a team in an instant. I just don't want that to happen again. So I'll prefer being a worrywart over losing my teammates."

"Right."

---

Already 20 minutes had passed since Gohan had entered the car. Outside, the sun had started to set, an early evening in late autumn. The doors of the van suddenly swung wide open and a tall figure stepped out, still hidden in the shadows cast by the buildings. As he stepped out of the van, the two CCDD-ers who had been standing guard turned too him and saluted him. Even too an outsider it would have been obvious that the hidden man was in charge of the group and demanded nothing but perfect obedience.

"Do we have the phone number of the police officer in charge?" he asked them, his voice hidden by the voice disrupter, removing any and all emotion making his voice hollow and cold.

"Yes sir, the phone is already ringing on the other side."

As soon as the Commander held the phone near his helmet, it was answered.

"Hello, this is chief Yamaka, who am I talking too?"

"Greetings Police chief, please do not make any outward reactions that would indicate this is a serious phone call. I am not here to threaten you, I wish to remove the men who are holding this school hostage as well but for that I will need your cooperation. After you hear me out, it will be your choice to come to us and work together or that we remain working as two separate units. Do you agree to hear me out first?"

The Commander gave a slight pause for the police chief to answer. It didn't even take the officer on the other side 5 seconds to give an answer.

"Yes, I'll do anything at this point to improve the situation, but who am I talking too?"

"My name is of no importance and we will only reveal who we are after you agree to cooperate with us. But listen up for now and don't give any outward signs; these men are very capable of inflicting a mass-murder on this school and eliminate your entire police force. In fact, it seems they wish to avoid unnecessary bloodshed so their punishment will be as low as possible in the event they do get caught. However, the care they have towards their hostages will also be our ticket in. I have received information that the hostage takers are there to take a single person captive. Judging from the time they have been in there, they are having some difficulty finding him or her. I have a plan to get into the building without any problems, but I will require your assistance. Do not say anything into the phone.

Look behind you, you will see a small alley. If you agree to cooperate with us, go into that alleyway, take the 2nd on your left and then the 1st on your right. In case you wish for security, you can bring 5 men along with you. If you do not arrive within 5 minutes we will assume that you have not decided to work with us and resume the plan on our own. Goodbye chief."

With that he turned of the phone as he waited.

Exactly 3 minutes later, the police chief and 4 other men arrived. The men all had their guns at the ready and all of them looked tensed up. When The Commander stood up and walked towards them, being cautious not to reveal himself too much, the officers were quick to point their guns at him. He didn't even show any signs of physically flinching, only spoke up to them.

"I am not here as your enemy, I am here to remove the threat inside the building. So lower your weapons or do not come here."

After a second of hesitation, the police chief gave the signal to lower the weapons, though he was still sweating heavily himself. He took a deep breath before managing to put on a normal face.

"You said you had a plan before, what is it? I want this situation over with as soon as possible, but so far they haven't made any mistakes that we could use."

"They have made 1 mistake and we will use it to destroy them. Now come, police chief, sit down and listen to what I tell you. You and your men must follow my instructions to the last detail or everything will fall apart and we will have a massacre on our hands."

---

"It sure gets dark quick these days. Don't you agree guys?" Johnson was looking out the window, still smoking a cigarette, as he made his bored statement. No one answered him though. Videl had long since gone back to her old place next to Sharpener and Videl, meaning that the only person to talk back at him was placed in the back of the classroom again.

'What is Gohan doing? I thought he said he had a plan, but he's been gone for over 6 hours already and nothing happened. Don't tell me he chickened out after all.' Videl's thoughts had been growing increasingly negative over the last 30 minutes. A look at her watch showed Videl it was already past 18:00 PM, meaning that pretty soon, everyone would start to get hungry.

'And I already ate everything in my lunchbox. This is not going to be pleasant at all.'

Meanwhile Johnson was still smoking a cigarette, having already filled three ashtrays on his own. He looked at watch, picked up the walky-talky and had a small conversation with some of his men before he stood up. As had been happening all day long, the entire class went silent and traced him with their eyes. He picked up the microphone used for school announcements again and started speaking into it so the entire school could hear it.

"Attention ladies, gentleman, boys and girls. As I'm sure most of you have noticed it's getting pretty late already and we still haven't found our mark, which means he's either not here or he's a damn good hide-and-seek player. My men are going to scan the school from top to bottom, but I have actually gotten quite an appetite in the meantime and I'm planning on getting some food. Now, since you're all teenagers and have been in some serious suspense since this morning I think you'll all want to eat something as well. Therefore I'm going to ask you to get a piece of paper for every class, write down what you want to eat from take-away and pass it around. We'll have the people outside get it for us. So don't be shy about trying out some fancy dish you've wanted to eat forever, it's all on the city's expanses tonight."

Almost as soon as the message was finished, Videl heard a lot of bellies rumble. People had obviously forgotten about hunger because of the stress, but the message brought the idea of food into their minds, resulting in the realization of hunger.

"I've got the paper; I'll pass it around for you guys!" Sharpener yelled, having torn a page out of his notebook.

"Gladly." Videl softly spoke.

Almost an hour later, the notes had all been gathered at last. Johnson was scanning over the 14 different pages that he had been given. After a few seconds, he spoke up again, surprise evident in his voice.

"You kids must have a few screws untied of something, not a single pizza on this entire list. You all really love hamburgers, Chinese and Indian food though. Well, whatever, your choices."

He placed the papers on his desk again before walking over to the window to shout orders to the police.

---

"Hey everyone listen up." The voice of the leader of the hostage takers, the man that had threatened Videl at gun point a few hours ago, suddenly yelled out the window.

"It's been getting pretty late and asked the kids here to make a list of what they want to eat. In a few minutes I'll be sending out one of my men with the lists. I want you guys to get the items on those lists and I would appreciate it if you could hurry it up a bit. And when my man steps outside, don't even think about arresting or shooting him unless you want to turn this entire thing really bloody. Let the town pay for it; they got money to spend anyway, so maybe you guys can order something as well. That was all. Anyone objecting the idea of getting something to eat?"

He was answered by stunned looks from all the policemen, news reporters and other people that had come to watch, most of them parents.

Behind them, hidden in a police truck, the commander of the Satan City Police Force couldn't believe it. This guy had actually given them the opportunity they had needed, while he had been ordered by the Commander to request for the hostage takers to get some food send in. he quickly told his second in command to look over things for a view minutes while he went to see his new 'allies'. The chief knew very well that the cooperation between the two groups was non-existent. The Commander and his group, which he still had not named in their conversation, had simply taken control of the operation. But as long as it meant that the kids, and most importantly Videl, were all released safely he didn't care.

"What change's have occurred in the plan?" the Commander's machine-like voice spoke again, completely unidentifiable as his entire body was still hidden in the shadow.

"We've been given a golden chance." The chief answered. "The hostage takers have just requested that food be brought for the hostages, meaning they've executed your plan for us."

"Not yet, Police Chief," the Commander spoke without showing any signs that would hint at his true reaction to the news. "Though they have given us a considerable opening. Have someone receive their shopping list and then order it from as many different places as possible. You will have a quicker delivery that way and it would be more tempting to allow the delivery boys in."

"I see. Then you and your guys sneak in, disguised as the delivery boys, and you deal with these guys. I see, pretty smart." The Chief said, the rest of the plan finally dawning to him.

"No, if we replace all the delivery boys they will notice. I will be the only one to replace a delivery boy and go in. But I shall be plenty to deal with this."

The chief didn't even react, he was too shocked by the bold statement and the suicide plan he had just heard.

---

It had, in total, taken almost 3 hours of taking orders, having the police send the deliveries and the actual waiting for their food, but at long last there were many different delivery cars standing outside of the school behind the police barriers.

And, for once, Videl agreed with the common opinion that the police worked too slow. She had been starving for a good meal. Looking outside at all the food-delivery services, she could almost taste all the good. The fried rise the Chinese had brought, the Hamburgers from 3 different major fast-food restaurants, the Shawarma from a Turkish restaurant and the Pizza's brought in from one of the best Italian restaurants in Satan City. Just the though made her stomach growl and her mouth run with fresh saliva.

"They were smart enough to order at different places. All right, let them send the delivery boys in and have them bring the food around. You know who ordered what guys." Johnson had located a few of his men near the entrance to intercept the delivery boys, guide them around and make sure they didn't pull anything. And of course, they would also capture any police officers that tried to sneak in.

'This guy doesn't leave anything to chance does he?' Videl thought, upset with how thorough the muscular man was being. 'When is he going to make a mistake already?'

---

The Commander's plan was moving along perfectly so far. He had used some kind of a holographic device to mask his appearance and look identical to one of the delivery boys. Said delivery boy had been stopped by the police before he even stepped out of his car and they requested his cooperation. A quick scan by the device and a short explanation later, the delivery boy had been pushed into a police-car so the traitors couldn't see him. His plan did not allow any failures.

And now he was walking towards the school, carrying a few bags of fast food in his hands, with his helmet's sensors scanning all around him. As he entered through the door, he activated the voice recording function of his helmet. All he would need were a few words to proceed with the next part of his plan.

"H-h-h-here you go s-s-s-sir." he said, making sure the act of scarred person was as realistic as possible, never taking his eyes of the guns that were strapped to their backs. "T-t-t-this is-s-s t-t-the f-f-f-f-fried Rise th-that w-w-was ordered." He quickly put the backs down and backed away a bit.

"Relax kid, we ain't gonna hurt you. I'm going to ask you to wait her for a bit so we can check who ordered fried rise around here, so wait just a second."

'_Perfect.'_ The Commander thought. With all the words that were just said, he could easily have his helmet transform his voice to become a perfect imitation of this man's. even though it was masked, each of the CCDD-outfits had small, specialized voice-like adjustments that only he, the Commander, and the Captains knew about. Johnson should have been able to recognize it as well. With this precaution, the Commander would only have to watch his own use of words a bit, but that wouldn't be too difficult. This was where the dangerous part really started.

As the man that had spoken up to him, a previous CCDD-er he recognizes as Alpha-8, turned around, the Commander moved quickly. Grabbing Alpha-8's head from behind, he slammed him into the ground, the back of his head first. Seeing the sudden events the woman who was with him, the only female on the Alpha team codenamed Alpa-1, reached for her handgun and walky-talky at the same time. Before she could grab either, the Commander was already on her. Instead of the rough, but powerful, attack he used on Alpha-8 he gave a few quick punches on some of the vital points of her body. Not strong enough to kill her, but plenty to knock her out before her hands were even halfway to their goals.

Knowing he had to act fast before the next few delivery boys would come in, the Commander grabbed their knocked out bodies, stripping them off their communication devices and weaponry, he stashed them into a trash-room around the corner. He quickly deactivated the holographic device and grabbed the gun he would use on this mission from the food-bags. In no more then 20 seconds he had completely put the weapon together and had it fire-ready before quickly continued, carrying the walky-talky of Alpha-8 with him.

'Here we go.'

As soon as the Commander walked past the first classroom, he used the heat-sensors in his helmet to scan the inside. He instantly had a clear image of the inside. As was most likely the case in all of the classrooms the hostage takers were standing in front of the class, in a straight line from the door, in the location where normally a teacher would be located. The Commander walked towards the door without making a sound and, after checking to make sure that the door opened inwards, held his gun at the ready.

The larger, fully-automated gun he held in his hands carried special tranquilizing bullets, a single shot would be enough to put any human out in less then 1 second. He still had his favored weapons, single-shot customized handguns, attached as well, but those were only for emergency use. Acting quick, the Commander pushed the door open with his foot, making sure that it didn't make too much noise, and quickly shot 3 times before anyone could react. The silencer made sure no-one heard the shots and the students themselves didn't even realize what was going on until he stepped up and ordered them to remain seated and quit until the entire situation was dealt with.

Checking his victims, the Commander noticed that none of them were from the CCDD. He quickly left the room, locking the door as he went, and continued on for the next classroom.

---

After the long wait, Videl was gladly digging into the fried rice that had finally been delivered. Even though she had already finished her lunchbox she was starved and ate as if she was an imitation of Gohan. All around the class, everyone else was doing the same. In the front of the room, Johnson was still walking around agitated as he was waiting for his food to arrive. He reached for the walky-talky again and spoke into it.

"He, Alpha-8. Is my Shawarma here yet? I'm starting to get hungry over here."

"Not yet Cap'n. But I'll notify you as soon as it arrives. I think they just brought in the last shipment of fried rice though. Shouldn't be too long now." the answer came.

"Fine." Johnson answered. For a second, Videl thought she saw a look of concern pass Johnson's face, but just as quickly it had passed.

---

'click'

The Commander closed yet another door behind him, quickly and quietly moving towards the next one. His plan had worked fine so far. Infiltrating and eliminating the frontal guards had been easy and he had already taken care of 4 classrooms before Johnson had first contacted him. His role when speaking has been convincing enough because Johnson hadn't bothered him any more and now there were only 3 classrooms left to deal with, all of which housed CCDD personal and some mercenaries.

Suddenly the walky-talky went off again. Quickly, the Commander activated his voice-scrambler, imitating Alpha-8 again, and listened to Johnson's request.

"He Alpha-8, are those Pizza's in yet? The kid that ordered one of them is looking completely starved while everyone around him is digging in. and where the hell is my shawarma?"

"The Shawarma is being delivered right now and just now a guy with a pizza-box came in cap'n. I send him to your classroom, should be there in about a minute or so."

He knew that he was pulling a complete bluff, but if he used the 'not here yet' excuse again, Johnson was sure to get suspicious. This would, at the least, buy him enough time to finish with the next classroom and hope to finish with Johnson before he expected the pizza and Shawarma to arrive.

---

"GODDAMNIT!!!" Johnson had suddenly exploded in anger after the man at the entrance gave an answer.

"You 2!" he yelled, pointing at Alpha-4 and Alpha-10. "Get the Satan girl and those 2 friends of hers down here. NOW!" there was a notion of fear and anger in his voice. As the two Soldiers walked up to her, Videl saw that Johnson had spit out his newly-lit cigarette and looked ready to kill.

Knowing they would be in for trouble if they resisted, Videl stood up before the Soldiers reached her. Sharpener and Erasa followed her lead and walked towards them. When they had walked down the stairs, they came face-to-face with Johnson who was looking livid.

"Bind their hands behind their backs and keep them between the door and us." He ordered.

"Sir, what's wrong?" Alpha-10 asked as he tied Erasa's arms behind her back.

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what the FUCK is wrong! We got an intruder and he's taken out Alpha-8 and Alpha-1. probably also took care of most of those incompetent imbeciles we work with on this mission!"

a/n:

And that concludes chappy 9. chapter 10 will be posted in 1 month's time. please review and tell me what you think of this chapter and the entire story so far.

I would like to thank my Beta for this chapter, Zephyair-Tai-Ji for his excellent and fast work on this chapter.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, least of all the DBZ universe or characters.

**Chapter 10**

* * *

'_What the hell?_' Videl's mind was racing after Johnson's last statement. '_What suddenly gives him the idea of an intruder? Did he ask some secret code of those guys at the front or something?_'

While Videl was trying to figure out the reason behind Johnson's sudden paranoia, Johnson kept on trying to contact others through his walkie-talkie. With every failed attempt his face grew more angered and worried.

'_Maybe he's right. Looks like most of his guys are unable to respond. I just hope we can also survive long enough to get out of here._'

Johnson suddenly slammed his walkie-talkie down on the desk and instead grabbed the microphone.

"If any of the guys working with me are still alive and kicking, get your asses over here NOW, just leave the goddamn punks and get over here! We got an intruder and he's been systematically taking care of all of us. And for the asshole that's infiltrated us, I'll say this; surrender now or I'll start executing kids. You got 10 seconds shit-head!"

But apparently, whoever it was that had infiltrated didn't even need 10 seconds. Almost instantly, the walkie-talkie went of again and a voice spoke up.

"My congratulations, Alpha-captain." Unlike the last time, when a small accent was still audible, the voice sounded as Videl would have expected a computer to sound. It was completely mechanical. And the voice had a very strong reaction to the CCDD-ers.

'_What's up with that voice? Johnson suddenly keeps looking at the walkie-talkie with a look of… is that fear? And these other guys all seem to be strapped to the ground as well._'

Completely mesmerized by the sudden fear that had wrapped around her capturers, Videl didn't notice the door opening and 3 more CCDD soldiers rushing in. when the voice continued, they too were rooted to the ground.

"Tell me, Captain; what gave me away as an infiltrator? From what point were you on to me?"

Very carefully, almost like he was afraid it might explode upon contact; Johnson walked to the communication device and picked it up.

"Of all the people that would arrive to try and stop us, I never expected you to arrive, Commander."

'_Commander?_' instantly, Videl's mind caught up with what was going on. '_This is their old boss? That's why they're so afraid suddenly. Johnson did say he was the best in the world but they outnumber him 40 to one._'

"That is irrelevant, Alpha-captain. I am asking you how you discovered my presence before I intended for you to find out."

"Very simple." Johnson spoke up, while he was suddenly giving gestures to his men with his other hand. "It was because of the Pizza's."

"Explain yourself."

"Sure thing." There was something similar to pride in his voice, as if he was glad that he had outsmarted the Commander.

While Johnson was still talking to the Commander, Videl was roughly picked up by one of the men. A squeal and angry yell behind her told her the same was happening to Sharpener and Erasa.

"You see sir," Johnson was still talking into the small black box as Alpha-4 slowly opened the door. The entire group set out, guns at the ready, and nearly broke into a run.

"None of the kids in this entire school building ordered pizza."

A sharp turn, Videl was starting to see where they were going.

"I remembered that because I though it was so awkward, a bunch of teenagers and no-one eating pizza's is something that would never happen back home."

Silently running down the stairs towards the ground floor, Johnson still kept his voice even.

"Alpha-8 hardly ever called me cap'n; he usually addressed me as sir. That's what got me suspicious. And when I looked out the window I saw the perfect test to see if you were the real alpha-8 or not."

They were moving, dragging their hostages along, through a long corridor now, one Videl easily remembered. The door at the end of the corridor had a lot of light coming through it, even though it was already dark outside.

"I saw the pizza vans and knew the cops must have ordered some pizza for themselves. So I asked, and you took the bait."

Alpha-10 kicked the door open, but it were Videl, Erasa and Sharpener that were outside first. At almost the same time, Johnson threw the walkie-talkie away as the small group of armed men formed a tight circle.

"I see." The mechanical voice that had sounded from the walkie-talkie minutes before was suddenly right behind them. Videl managed to turn herself around enough to see behind her.

No-one was there.

"This reminds me once again, Alpha-captain, that one must never work with incompetent subordinates."

Videl realized where the voice was coming from when it spoke up the second time. It was above her. When she and her capturers looked up, she saw the figure that was no doubt the Commander, standing on a first floor window. Before Videl had a good look at him, the Commander jumped down and landed no 2 meters behind her.

He had crouched down as he landed, but the Commander stood up just as quickly. Looking at the strange figure that was the Commander, Videl saw that he was dressed from head to toe. Not a single piece of skin was revealed.

He wore dark blue, nearly black, boots that looked like they melted into the pants he wore. Unlike the other CCDD Soldiers, the Commander's pants weren't as tight, yet for some reason it looked much more intimidating that way. He wore a shirt that could have passed for body armor on his chest, the same dark shade of blue as his shoes and pants. Through it, she could clearly see every muscle on his body, or was it some kind of armor made to look like muscle? Videl didn't know.

His hands, the only parts of his arms that Videl could see, were covered in tight gloves; again they were colored dark blue. Strange lines were running over every one of his fingers and crept up to his wrists where Videl lost all sight of his arms behind his massive coat. He wore a large coat, resembling a rain coat. Unlike the rest of his clothes, the coat was of a midnight black. It was not buttoned or zipped tight, allowing it to flow in the winds dramatically and make him appear even larger then he was. The only thing that kept the long coat secured was a single, very big, belt secured around his waist. It was, strangely enough, clapped above all other layers of cloth, keeping the upper part of his coat in place. At the centre of the belt, the connection point, was a large golden badge, barring the CCDD insignia.

The armor-shirt continued up to his neck, right into his helmet, barring even his neck from view. The helmet itself didn't look like anything special, it looked just like a normal black motorcycle helmet, only it had 2 antenna's attached to both sides of the head. But unlike Saiyaman, whose antenna's made him look funny; with the Commander it didn't make him look funny at all. Instead the entire helmet, hiding his emotions as well as his voice, only served to make him look even more intimidating.

"What do you mean incompetent subordinates? Your own squad's failed you now?" the fear was back in Johnson's voice.

'_He's trying to stall for time. But why did he leave his favorable position in the classroom anyway? Now he's surrounded by armed cops._'

"No Alpha-captain. My men have not failed me; instead it is the incompetent police force in this city that has once again failed to do its job, no matter how tiny it was."

The Commander made no effort to even try and keep quite; everyone present could hear him over the silence that had been born upon his arrival.

"And what part of your grand plan would that be commander? Failed to intercept our transmission or something?"

"No, you know as well as I do that such important tasks should not be left in incapable hands, captain. But.-"the Commander grew silent for a second as he leveled the rifle he was carrying with him and aimed it at Johnson's face, right next to Videl's.

"I have no intension whatsoever of informing you what my plan was and give you time to think of an escape route. You will surrender now or I will take you and your men out."

'_This guy is insane!_' Videl's mind was screaming at her. '_Doesn't he know just how likely he is to hit ME instead!_'

"Hey you!" she shouted before even thinking about it. "If you shoot like that, you'll be just as likely to hit one of his hostages, namely me! Lower your gun already."

"No Miss Satan, I will not bow down to such lowly acts as this. I care only for the completion of my objective. This gun does not carry lethal bullets; you will survive a direct hit."

'_So THIS is why they left the classroom._' She thought, realization dawning upon her. '_This insane moron doesn't care about anyone's lives._'

"You cops listen up!" Johnson shouted. "I'll give you all 3 seconds to aim your gun at the Commander over there. If you don't I'll assure you that you're #1 crime fighter's head will be blasted across the entire street."

Without a seconds thought, all the police officers in the street turned their guns towards the Commander.

Without even realizing it, one nasty thought popped up in Videl's head.

'_That's the quickest I've ever seen them react to an order._'

---

"Move it already! I'm in a hurry here!"

Never before had Hercule Satan been so frustrated about his city, the police, the school his daughter attended AND his occupation at once.

"I am gone for a few days and everything turns into complete chaos! Can't these punks do anything right without me watching their backs?" he grumbled as he pushed the gas paddle of his car even deeper, speeding up even more. He was racing through the streets at 3 times the legal speed by now and he still thought it was going to slow.

"I'm out for 3 days to compete in a tournament in France and they just HAD to go and pull a stunt like that now!?"

While he was racing, and had nearly reached his daughter's school building, Hercule reflected back on what must have surely been the fastest journey between France and Japan in his experience.

A few hours ago, at half past 3 in the morning local time, Hercule had been woken by the hotel manager in his peaceful slumber. Before he even had time to act enraged by the act of disrespect, the hotel manager had informed him of what had happened. The Japanese police had called to the hotel, claiming that Videl Satan had warned them of her school being taken over by hostage takers. The police had, in turn, been requested by Hercule to inform him if anything were to happen to his daughter.

As soon as he heard, he made arrangements for a private flight to quickly take him back to Japan, got a car ready for his travel to the school with every intension of saving his daughter and her fellow students, and was racing through the city towards her now. All together, it hadn't even taken 13 hours in total, but for Hercule it had been far too long.

Turning the corner and hitting the breaks at the same time, Hercule arrived at his daughter's school, only to bear witness to one of the strangest scene's he had ever witnessed. And in his case, that was saying something.

'_Did the entire Satan City Police Force come out for this?_' he wondered, swelling briefly with pride as he always did when the city's name was mentioned.

He was looking at the same scene that was currently being recorded by multiple cameras from different TV-stations. Before the school's entrance, a single man stood. His entire body was hidden in a strange suit, looking more like armor then anything else, his face guarded by a helmet and a large rifle in his hands, pointing at the group in front of him.

The group itself consisted of only 7 people; most of them wearing even bigger rifles. With the exception of 4 of them, all were wearing identical clothes and had their faces hidden by masks. Hercule could see 2 of the masked men holding blonde teenagers that he quickly recognized as Sharpener Pencil and Erasa Endara, the two best friends of his daughter. The other unmasked figure was someone he didn't recognize. A tall, muscular man with short green hair, who looked like he was holding something in front of him and was talking with the helmet figure.

'_What on earth is going on?_' Hercule thought, realizing that all the policemen were aiming, in fact, not at the group of people who had the hostages, but at the single person in front of them.

'_Why aren't they pointing those guns at the hostage takers?_'

He had just stepped out of his car, took a deep breath in preparation of a loud shout, when the green-haired men turned around a bit. Hercule could suddenly see an 8th person in the group, a person he recognized instantly. His daughter.

"VIDEL!"

---

"VIDEL!"

The loud shout and hard voice could only belong to 1 person, a person Videl had almost never been happier to see or hear.

'_Daddy!_'

And, almost instantly, a second thought rang through her head.

'_We're saved!_'

As childish as it may have been, Videl couldn't help it. She had always loved her father a lot and had come to know she could rely on him. Whenever she was in too much trouble, he would always be there to help her out. Her father was unstoppable!

She turned her head a bit, freeing her mouth from Johnson's grip.

"You'd better surrender now! My Dad is here and if you don't give up now, you're all going to get it!"

Despite the childish sound it would no doubt have, Videl gave a triumphant look at Johnson, expecting to see him nearly in tears at the sight of her father as his enemy. What she saw shattered her triumphant look.

Johnson had not even looked at her father yet; his eyes were still focused on the Commander. He had not even turned away when her father had yelled.

"It would seem this is turning into quite a crowded show." The Commander spoke up, his rifle still aiming towards them, no fear evident at the hundreds of guns pointed at him.

"Yeah." Was all Johnson said. And then, as if he had only just heard Videl's words, he spoke up to her.

"Missy, I would be overjoyed to have your father as my enemy if that would mean the Commander would leave. But it's not going to work that way is it!"

"Wha…"

'_That's not right! No-one wants to fight my dad, he's the most dangerous opponent in the world! He defeated Cell for crying out loud!_'

---

Johnson was feeling the cold sweat dropping down his back, the hairs in his neck standing on end. He tried to keep the fear from his face and voice, but he was in a serious predicament. The Commander was standing in front of him, the Satan City Police Force behind him, though he had them under control, locking him in. Besides that he was also facing the wrath of the Hercule Satan, the undefeated World Champion of Martial Arts, a fighter on the same level or even higher then the Commander. And to top it all off, he was pretty sure that more CCDD personal were in the area, waiting for a moment to strike.

'_Shit. Shit, shit SHIT!' this was supposed to be such an easy job! Just get in, announce it to the world and get 1 damn kid. That old nut-case said there would be nothing too it! Why did the CCDD have to get involved in all this?_'

And then, suddenly, an idea dawned to him.

'_The Commander does always work alone, other CCDD-ers would just get in his way, but he always has an entire squad with him on missions. That'll be my ticket out of this mess! But the Commander will never listen to me; I'll have to force my hand through!_'

"You Cops and everyone else listen up!" he shouted, his eyes never leaving the Commander. "This guy has an entire team with him, and the police must have been informed of where they arrived. Get your asses over there and bring me the bikes they arrived on! If you don't bring them here in 5 minutes, Miss Satan here will be a wall decoration!"

The sudden outburst of movement behind him, said enough. The entire police force was moving to get him those bikes.

"And by the way, Hercule," he added, quickly remembering that the champ was present as well. "If you get any closer then that, you will be seeing the insides of your daughter's head, so don't move!"

And somewhere behind her, Videl heard her father say the words he should never have to say, the words she couldn't believe she was hearing out of his mouth.

"Alright, you win."

* * *

A/N:

Chappy 10 done, the Commander has finally been revealed at long last. And a bit of Hercule as well. Now before people start flaming me about Hercule inspiring fear in Johnson, or Videl relying on him, remember that he IS the ruling world champion for 7 years in a row, probably longer since he was also the champ when he fought Cell. He is a powerful fighter in his own right, just nowhere near the level of the Z-fighters or their enemies. And he loves the media, but I think that Hercule would love his family more, as shown through various scenes in the anime.

And in a response to A-man(an anonymous reviewer); the reason that the CCDD still exists, even after Bulma has been married to Vegeta will be explained in Chapter 12, so sit tight for a while and you'll find out. And as for Gohan's sudden weakness… it will be revealed with time.

Now if you have read that all; flame/review away.

And, as always, thanks to my beta's Zephyr-Tai-Ji, IllusionSky and Mirrors of Illusion. Be sure to check out their stories as well.

Please tell me what you thought of this chapter.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of its characters. I only own the idea for the CCDD and nothing else.

Chapter 11

* * *

"_Alright, you win." _

As soon as Hercule spoke the words, the Commander used the built-in computer inside his helmet to activate a private line to his men. The Alpha-captain, his men and those imbeciles of the police were all occupied with the World Champion's surrender.

'_No surprise that he would surrender,_' the Commander thought to himself as he activated the connection. '_Every human has a price for surrendering. Alpha-captain found his already._'

"Omega squad, listen up." He started, knowing that his voice would not reach the outside world. "In a few minutes, the police will be coming to claim the motorcycles that you arrived in. Omega-6, you will stand ready by the vehicles and give four of them to the police. Hide the 5th one. The rest of you, ensure a position that will allow for submissive fire upon their escape. If all goes well we will be able to finish our business right here. Commander out."

The men and woman that had accompanied him here were actually a combination of the Sigma and Gamma squads, but it was CCDD tradition and regulation that any squad under the direct command of the Commander would be addressed as Omega-squad. It made it far easier to give orders to the group.

"What are you going to do now, Alpha-captain?" The Commander had quickly reactivated his voice module, allowing him to speak to the group in front of him again. The captain turned; sweat still clearly on his forehead. Without his mask, his emotions could be easily read. He was fearful, yet strangely excited about the current situation.

"Know this captain." The Commander spoke, his rifle still aimed at the man's head. "Upon taking seat on those motorcycles, you will be out into the open, where you are an easy target. You will move from one dangerous location to another. You are trapped! Surrender now and no injuries shall befall you or your men."

The Satan girl had a bewildered look on her face, clearly thinking that he had no place to make demands. After all, the captain had 3 hostages and there were about 70 guns pointing in his direction. But she was still naïve, still young. She didn't know there were many other weapons at work here, weapons that were invisible to the eye. She didn't know about the fear, the manipulation, the intimidation and preparations that were going on here. She was, after all, just a teenager.

She was just her own age, unlike someone else the Commander knew.

"Ha! Me, surrender?" the captain spoke up, speaking as if he had the advantage. "Never, Commander. Just like I said, I always have a plan ready. And it looks like I'll be able to continue my plan in a few minutes."

As the captain was speaking, or bluffing, the Commander had received confirmation from all his squad members.

'_Good. Everyone is in position and the motorcycles will be delivered shortly. This will all be over soon._'

"Is that so captain? But let us see whether your plan will succeed or if I will be able to spoil it."

At that exact moment, 4 police officers came up behind the former Soldiers and their leader. They had 4 of the 5 motorcycles used by the CCDD to arrive with them.

"Perfect." The Alpha-captain said as he glimpsed at the vehicles. Then, still not taking his eyes of the Commander, he addressed the policemen.

"Hey cops! Open fire on the Commander, or I will open fire on your heroine!"

But the police didn't obey his command, apparently struggling whether or not to open fire. Even in the predicament he was in, the Commander's thought about the police were proven correct.

'_Just as I had imagined. Spineless and undisciplined weaklings._'

But the same could not be said for the former Soldiers of the Alpha-squad. The two who weren't occupied with hostages raised their gun and aimed at the Commander.

'_Very well then._' The Commander thought as he prepared for his countermeasure, all his muscles tensing up. '_I think a demonstration is in order._'

---

'_What is that guy doing?_' Videl thought to herself as she watched the Commander throw his rifle up, as if he was giving it to the sky. '_Throwing away his weapon when he's targeted! He'll get gunned down!_'

-BANG!-

Before Videl could even shout at the Commander, someone next to her had shot. The sound, close enough to make her ears ring for a second, was like a signal to everyone around. The people who were watching, those outside the school and the students who had pressed themselves against the windows to watch, quickly dropped to the ground in fear, shouting as they went. But the policemen had all, as if following a lead, fired their gun as well, most of them not even taking proper aim. They were obviously afraid that the next shot would be for her head if they didn't.

But that was not what had captured Videl's attention. she wasn't thinking about how half the police station had just broken the law in hopes of protecting her from harm. All she could focus on the commander and the sudden, almost hypnotizing, series of movements he had started.

As soon as the first shot had sounded, he ran to his right, evading the first bullet. But the rain of bullets that followed didn't even faze him. He pushed off in mid-dash, resulting in a small half-summersault, landing on one hand. From there he rotated so his feet were facing in the direction he was going previously, and rolled on. During the roll, he pushed off with his feet and again changed his direction, making a cartwheel while facing the police and news reporters. The moment his head was but an inch from the ground, his arms had moved in a flash, pushing him of from the ground.

He had pushed off hard enough to get near one of the flag posts on the first floor. Hooking his knees behind it, he managed to spin half a circle around it before letting himself fly away. It was then that Videl realized what he was doing.

'_NO WAY! He's flying right up to his rifle! Did he seriously plan everything to go like that?_'

True enough, the Commander had flown up to his rifle in mid-air and had wasted no time in grabbing it. Spinning around, he raised it to his shoulder and opened a volley of return fire.

"SCATTER!" Videl heard Johnson yell the order before she was roughly pulled away, most likely by Johnson. Almost instantly, she saw the bullets from the Commander landing just behind the place where she had been standing previously.

They would have hit Johnson dead-on.

"Get on the bikes!"

---

'_THAT MADMAN IS SHOOTING AT MY LITTLE GIRL!_'

In a few seconds, Hercule had been both awed and infuriated.

'_This guy is good!_' Hercule thought as he watched, awed, at the movements of the helmet-wearing stranger. '_I've not seen anyone moving like that since I was invited to watch the Olympics for gymnastics. But even with moves like those, I can't forgive him!_' a surge of anger, larger then any he ever felt, was raging through him. '_That bastard opened fire on my little girl! And of all the people, it was her freaking hostage taker that saved her?!_'

"What are you cops waiting for?!" he bellowed, hoping they would act for once. "Stop them already!"

But the police did not answer as the Commander graciously landed on his feet, even from a height of 5 meters. They were all stunned from his short performance.

---

'_Good. Their support is dealt with._' The Commander thought as he stood up again, preparing to take aim and re-open fire. '_So undisciplined, being stunned by some acrobatic acts._'

Looking around however, he noticed that his target was gone.

'_What? Where are they?' _Taking a quick look around, the Commander quickly got his answer._ 'They're heading towards the bikes!_'

True enough, in the last few seconds, the 4 motorcycles had been delivered and Alpha-captain and his men were going towards them rapidly, dragging their hostages with them.

'_Not so fast!_'

With that, the Commander started to dash after them, hoping to catch them before they could escape.

---

"OUT OF OUR WAY DAMNIT!"

Johnson was forcing his way through the crowd, his hand-gun not moving from Videl's temple, and shouted at the crowd to part.

'_We only bought a few seconds with those cops shooting him,_' he thought desperately, '_we have to get to those bikes before the commander closes in on us!_'

Up ahead, the four bikes that the remaining CCDD members had arrived on were being delivered by four cops. Seeing the commotion, three of the cops immediately withdrew from the vehicles. The fourth one was still standing there, looking at Johnson and his men arrive.

Without even looking back, Johnson could feel the Commander getting closer with every second.

'We don't have any time to lose.'

"You kids listen up," Johnson yelled as he pushed a woman out of his path, "when we get on those bikes and we change directions, bend with the bike. If you don't, we crash and at the speed we're going that'll be lethal. So no heroics."

'Made it! Now we have to get the hell out of here.'

Taking a quick look over his shoulder, Johnson saw that the commander was about halfway through the crowd and moving fast. Turning back, he suddenly saw that one of the cops still hadn't moved. And he was blocking Johnson's motorcycle.

"Y-y-y-you have everything you demanded. Now, release the hostages." The young police officer said, shaking in his boots.

"Get the hell out of my way now." Johnson said. His voice as cold as could be.

'_I don't have time to be gentle with a goddamn baby cop. The Commander'll be here in a few seconds._'

"Let the hostages go!" the police-officer repeated, his voice a bit stronger then before.

"I don't have time for negotiations kid." Johnson answered anger obvious in his voice.

In a flash, Johnson had removed his gun from Videl's temple and pointed it right between the eyes of the younger man.

Then he pulled the trigger.

BANG-

---

BANG-

'_No. No, this isn't happening!_' Videl thought. '_Half an hour ago, Johnson didn't want to make any injuries. Why is this suddenly happening?_'

It was like everything was suddenly moving in slow motion. Videl could see the sudden fountain of red shooting out the back of the officer's head, bits and pieces of other matter riding with it. It stopped as sudden as it began. Then the worst of it all came.

Videl looked in horror as the young man's body was blown back by the force of the shot. His neck twisted to hide his face and his entire body followed the face. He didn't even land on the bike, but he was blown past it, almost as if he had been doing a high jump with athletics. The floor behind him colored red by his blood and black by the road.

But this man would never be get up and jump again.

"Get on the bike NOW!" Johnson yelled in her ear, apparently unfazed by the fact he had just killed someone.

He had taken a human life and didn't even blink about it.

Not being able to react properly anymore, Videl hardly noticed it when Johnson heaved her on the bike and started the engine.

'He didn't do anything at all. He was trying to do his job and this is what happened to him? Why did he die? Why did this asshole have to shoot a perfectly innocent and good young man?'

But Videl was suddenly roused from her thoughts by a single voice that was shouting. A cold, mechanical and emotionless voice that sounded as inhuman as the act she had just seen before her.

"ALL UNITS, OPEN FIRE!"

---

They had a 20 meters head start; obviously they had used the time he needed to land on the ground to gain a big advantage. But the Commander could not open fire on them; there were too many bystanders nearby.

Forcing his way through the crowd, the Commander tried to gain on them, but already they had reached the vehicles. A single police officer stood there, trying to hold them off.

18 meters left. There were 4 vehicles and 8 people, they would either have to abandon their hostages or ride with 2 a bike with unwilling people. Neither option was very positive for the enemy. And the Alpha-captain still hadn't removed the officer.

'_Perhaps there is something that the police here can do. If he can hold them there long enough this will be dealt with._'

15 meters left. Apparently the Alpha-captain had decided that he did not have time to waste on removing the police officer, nor did he want to lose his great bargain chip. In a single smooth movement the gun that he had been holding on the girl's head was moved and aimed at the officer's head.

- BANG-

The Alpha-captain had shot the police officer in the head and now an already dead body was flying over the motorcycles. The commander didn't even slow his pace.

He had seen too many deaths already to be shocked by a single headshot.

12 meters left and the hostages were being mounted on the motorcycles. It would not be possible to gain on them before they left. A change of plans was in order.

Changing directions slightly, the Commander instead headed for a media-van that was stationed outside the school. Its size was twice as high as the average human, a large satellite-dish on its top to send images life to the studio. It would do well enough.

Behind him, he heard the trademark roar of the engine, the motorcycles were being activated. It was now or never. He quickly opened all frequencies to alert his men of his order, but he had no time to prevent the public from hearing his orders.

He yelled the order as he jumped for the top of the van.

"ALL UNITS, OPEN FIRE!"

---

She had barely heard the order when suddenly; all hell broke loose around her. Loud gunshots could be heard from every direction and nothing short of a rain of bullets came towards them.

"EVASIVE MANOUVERING!" Johnson managed to yell over all the noise as he began zigzagging the bike.

Videl did her best to move with the bike, hoping not to fall. In between the maneuvering, she caught a glimpse of the gunfire that was all coming from the nearby rooftops.

'_Is this all planned by the Commander as well? Does that guy have no brains at all?! What if they hit me, or Sharpener or Erasa?_'

She was beginning to dislike him more and more.

---

Hercule barely had time to register what happened. He had been forced to surrender to prevent his daughter from getting hurt, and then a minute later, there had been a multitude of gunshots, all aimed at someone who dodged them without any effort at all. By the time he had regained his bearings enough to move around, the kidnappers had already disappeared into the crowd, followed closely by the super-acrobat. The next he knew, the strange man wearing a helmet had jumped over him, landing on top of a news reporter's van. He had yelled something and suddenly there was so much going on, he didn't know how much time had passed.

The helmet-man kneeled down on one knee, gaining a traditional shooting pose often used by hunters, and started shooting. From almost every nearby rooftop, there was a sudden hail of bullets. Like everyone else, Hercule was quick to drop himself to the floor, but he never let his eyes off the bike that carried his daughter.

'_Whoever is driving that thing is GOOD. This rain of bullets and nothing hits._' He thought, before realization hit him again. '_Wait a second; what am I congratulating him for? That 2__nd__ rate excuse for a tough guy has my little girl!_'

The bikes dashed rapidly, faster then Hercule had ever seen a motorcycle do, out of sight in the main street. Somewhere above him, he heard a mechanical voice speak again.

"Hold fire."

Almost as suddenly as hit had started, the bullet-storm had stopped. A large shadow passed in front of him and as Hercule looked up, he saw the helmet-wearing man jump from the van.

'That's the 2nd time he tried to hurt Videl!'

Not even really knowing what he was doing, Hercule stood up and stormed towards the man.

---

'_This is starting to turn into a big annoyance._' The Commander thought as he watched the evasive maneuvering that Alpha-captain and his men made to prevent any of the bullets from hitting.

'_If they move too far away, the bullets will not be able to reach them. We must take them down now._'

Shouldering his rifle, the Commander took more careful aim and re-opened fire, aiming at the tires of the first vehicle. If it hit, the vehicle would crash, due to the sudden explosion of the tire. The other three, riding behind it, would no doubt be taken down with it.

But the bullet missed. The evasive maneuvering the captain was doing along with the distance saw that he barely missed being grazed by it.

It was his last chance, but he missed. The targets could not be eliminated here. Feeling more anger then ever before, the Commander gave a reluctant order.

"Hold fire."

Instantly, the CCDD's rifles' ceased fire.

"Everyone, gather at my location. Omega-6, bring the remaining motorcycle to me."

Numerous calls of "sir!" were returned. He quickly jumped down from the van in preperation

In no more than a minute, the CCDD members would gather around him. '_I will see to this matter personally. He has made enough insults to the CCDD. He will pay for the disgrace he brought upon us._'

As he touched down on the floor, he was aware of someone suddenly running towards him. Turning around, he was grabbed by the collar of his long coat, by non other then the world champion of Martial Arts.

"Hey, you asshole." Hercule started, shouting in the Commander's face, "That's the second time you've opened fire on my daughter. What the hell are you playing at? You should prevent the hostages from being hurt instead of opening fire on them! Just what the Hell are you thinking endangering my daughter and those other kids like that?"

"Unhand me." the Commander simply stated.

"No, not until you give me some answers!" the champ demanded, still gripping on to the Commander's collar.

"Why the hell are you shooting at my daughter?! Why the hell are you shooting at terrorists that have hostages?!"

All around them, the CCDD members that were scattered across the rooftops, quickly came down to meet the Commander. They jumped from the top of the buildings, but long before they could hit the ground, they pressed a button on their backpacks. Small flames burst out of the backpacks, acting as jet-packs and slowing their descent. As soon as they touched the ground, they deactivated the device and walked towards the Commander.

"You seem to be making a thorough misunderstanding here." The Commander said to Hercule, grabbing his hand and removing it from his coat.

"We are not police officers," he continued, "nor are we here to uphold the law. We are here to fulfill our mission and that is to defeat those that had taken this school building hostage. I am in no way obliged to guarantee that all the hostages stay safe. That is the work of those whom call themselves policemen."

"WHAT!" Hercule bellowed, drawing back his fist. "As long as you'll defeat your opponent you don't care? Don't you have feelings at all?"

The Commander was quick to grab the champ's arm, preventing him from actually taking a swing.

"Feelings only get in the way when you have to make decisions." He stated, before turning around.

Behind him, Omega-6 had brought up the remaining motorcycle.

"You… do you have no morals at all? Anyone knows that you shouldn't hurt those that you don't have to!" the champ shouted.

"Omega-6, take this rifle, I will have no more need for it." The Commander said, ignoring the world champion as he gave the large gun to the soldier before turning around to face Hercule.

"Coming from you, I find it highly ironic. It is your job to hurt people in a tournament, but all of that is actually needless violence. And you claim that every person knows that you shouldn't hurt anyone if you don't have to? Perhaps that is an illusion that you live by, but people hurt each other all the time whether they have to or not. And let me remind you, 'Champion', that the police had already been active at this site for multiple hours without any progress made whatsoever. My team and I have only been here for thirty minutes, but already over 80 of the enemies have been terminated and 99 percent of the hostages have been freed. Now only 3 hostages and 5 enemies remain, as opposed to the 40 hostage takers and over 300 hostages from mere minutes ago."

Behind them, unknown to the World champion, every camera, microphone and all eyes were fell on them, interested in their sudden argument.

"So, that's it?" Hercule asked his voice suddenly shaking with anger, as the Commander climbed onto the motorcycle. "As long as you reach your desired result, you don't care how you get there? What kind of person are you!?"

The Commander took a second to activate the engine of the vehicle, before answering, without making eye contact with the so-called 'champ'.

"Omega squad, here are your orders for now. Omega 1 through 4 will enter the school building. Ensure the enemy's bodies are brought out. The traitors will be brought back to the CCDD before we hand them over to the police. Omega 5 and 6 will do crowd control, I don't want total chaos to erupt here. And the rest of you, guide the students out in an orderly manner. Do not give pursuit; I will handle this problem myself. They have toyed around long enough."

None of the CCDD-ers answered; instead they turned and broke into a run towards the school building.

"And as for you, 'champion'" the Commander spat, again emphasizing on the word 'champion', "I will answer your question before I go."

Hercules stayed silent, waiting for his reply.

"I am the kind of person, who defeats his enemies."

With that, the Commander let the motorcycle roar into action and shot away, chasing his enemies.

* * *

A/N: and yet another chapter finished. please tell me what you think of it in a review.

I would like to thank my Beta's Zephyr-Tai-Ji, Mirrors of Illusion and Illusion Sky for their help in reading ,correcting and editing this chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dragonball Z universe or any of its characters. I'm borrowing them for some fun.

* * *

"I hate days like today." 

Bulma Briefs, the richest woman in the world, was watching the TV and following everything that went on with the whole hostage-taking event. It had been her decision that had sent the Commander and his men in, but this was turning messier by the minute.

"After the series of strange events taking place in the last 30 minutes, it seems that most of the school student's have been brought into safety. So far no reports have been made of any injuries with the hostages." The reporter said.

"For those of you that have just tuned in; Orange Star High, an elite high-school in Satan City has been taken hostage by a large group of armed men this morning. None of their intensions had been made public yet, but in the last half an hour, a number of noteworthy events have occurred here, one of which is a double shout-out, right here in front of the school. While we wait for the helicopters to find the leader of the hostage takers and some of his men, along with the unknown masked man that followed them, the police will let inform us of what they know about the current situation and the hostage takers."

The camera turned around a bit to face a police officer who immediately started to talk.

"As has already been said, this morning at around 10:00 A.M. this morning, a group of armed men had entered Orange Star High and quickly taken control. Miss Videl Satan had immediately warned us and we had send in some silent scouting groups, not wanting to provoke the possible terrorists."

"It's not a terrorist action moron." Bulma said out loud. "A terrorist's goal is to install fear. If they wanted that the school would already be destroyed."

"Apparently Videl tried to take control of the matter, but for some reason as of yet unknown to us, she was unable to. We suspect that she was forced to surrender under the threat of have multiple classmates severely injured. Afterwards, Videl had been threatened in front of the window and the hostage takers had ordered us to alert more media, for reasons still unrevealed." The police officer continued.

"At around 17:30 PM this afternoon, after a noteworthy silence from the school, an outside organization contacted the police chief in charge, and requested cooperation. Without any other options, the police force agreed and the leader of this organization managed to infiltrate the school at around 21:00 PM. We had lost contact afterwards, for the sake of stealth, but at 21:30 PM the results of the operation were revealed. The leader of the hostage takers had revealed himself, along with a small group of men and 3 hostages. What followed was a series of action, which left the police with no options but to let the hostage takers go. If we had not, serious injury would have been done to the hostages. However, to our great regret and shock, one of our officers had been shot by the leader and has been killed in duty. We will not reveal the officer's name until the family has been notified and we will comply with their wishes."

He took a quick breath and a small break before continuing.

"The leader of the organization that has come to out aid has set up a pursuit of the hostage takers. A police-blockade is also being placed around the city, leaving no exit points for the hostage takers. We are confident that before long we will have this entire situation dealt with."

"Thank you officer Chiha." The reporter said, "Now, about the leader of the hostage takers, what have you learned of him?"

"From what we have learned from the information given to us by Videl and what we have learned of our own search, the leader of the hostage takers is 34 year old Mick J, a former US Navy Seal captain." At his words, an image of Johnson's face appeared on the screen next to the officer.

"From what we have learned, Mick was a captain of the US Navy seals at the young age of 21 but was removed from service after he and his squad had been ambushed during a scouting mission, with Mick being the only survivor. After his time in service, he became a mercenary and we believe he is on this job as a mercenary, working for an as of yet unknown client."

"Thank you for your information officer." The reporter said once again, as the camera returned to her.

"We have also just received information that one of the helicopters monitoring the situation has managed to find the hostage takers and someone in pursuit of them. We will return to you shortly."

"Hmm." Bulma had a look of worry on her face as she watched the scene through the TV.

"I've put the kids in bed; they're supposed to be sound asleep." Vegeta announced as he walked into the room.

"Supposed to be?"

"I'll bet they've sneaked of to watch this entire affair on 1 of the other 40 televisions in the house."

Vegeta quickly seated himself next to his wife, a rare show of affection that was only done when there was no one else around. He wouldn't want to ruin his reputation after all.

"So, mind telling me why you found it necessary to send in the trigger brigade instead of having the brat deal with it himself? If he'd put on that stupid moron-gear of his he would have had this entire thing end before noon."

"Well, Gohan's lost a lot of his power suddenly so he couldn't handle it anymore. At least not without some people getting seriously injured or revealing himself. And I doubt that you would feel the need to play hero for a few hundred kids you don't even know."

"Correct." Vegeta said in return, something of a smile playing on his face. "But I'm also failing to see the entire point of those goons with guns. You could have disbanded that entire division 10 years ago, when I first came living here, since their main purpose was to defend you and your family. And I assure you, if I can't save you, there's no way they can either."

Bulma couldn't help but smile and snuggle up with her husband a bit. It may have sounded a little strange, but that was Vegeta's way of saying that he'd protect her and the mere fact that he considered her safety meant he cared a lot for her.

'_Sometimes he's such a difficult man. At others he's totally sweet and predictable._' She thought, before answering his question.

"I didn't need them for my protection anymore, that's true. And I'm pretty sure that you become dependent on the CCDD for your own safety will be the last day this earth remains intact. You'd destroy it out of pure rage. But I've kept them around for the safety of the other employees and board directors, and to prevent any espionage from other companies. Because as much as I love you and you love me and I know you'll protect me, I very much doubt you'd like to play detective with 'weaklings and no-bodies that don't even posses the slightest bit of fighting ability' just because they managed to copy a new toaster-design."

"Do you always have to sound so cheesy when we're alone?" he said. But he didn't contradict her.

Suddenly another reporter's voice sounded from the television.

"We return to you now with life footage of the impressive scene that is going on underneath us. This jet-copter is currently flying with a speed of 150 miles per hour and we are having major difficulty keeping up with the motorcycle's that currently carry the leading characters in today's major event."

"Let's see how this is going to end, and then I'll give Trunks and Bra 5 more minutes to pretend to sleep before I check on them." Vegeta said as he put an arm around his wife.

---

'_I KNEW he was lying._'

Johnson was getting thoroughly angered. He and his men had only managed to get a small head start before the commander suddenly started gaining on them.

"Move to the outer circle of the city!" Johnson yelled over his shoulder before turning the gas even higher. Despite the high speed they were traveling at, his men all heard and obeyed his order.

'_Damnit, he's at an advantage here._' Johnson realized as he tried to think of escape routes. '_His bike only caries 1 person so it's lighter and since he's alone he can decide his own speed. How are we going to get out of…_'

"OF COURSE!" he yelled the last part of his thoughts out loud. They had just reached the outer traffic ring of the city and it was packed. A gigantic traffic jam was severely reducing the speed that the traffic was traveling with.

"WE'LL MOVE THROUGH THEM!" he yelled, confident that his men would hear him even with their speed.

---

'_Through them? He's kidding right?_' Erasa's heart rate was already jacked up, but if they were going to be moving through that mass of slow-moving vehicles, she was sure she'd die of a heart attack.

"Keep your legs tucked in, or we might hit something." Her 'driver' told her. His voice was surprisingly pleasant and nice; Erasa had expected a commanding and intimidating voice from a man of his size.

A quick glance at the dashboard showed Erasa they were already moving at 150 miles per hour and their speed was only climbing.

'_Please, please, please, please, please don't hit anything_' Erasa prayed in her head as she pressed her eyes shut and crushed her legs together on either side of the motorbike.

But, miraculously, even with the high amount of swaying that the vehicle was doing they didn't hit anything at all.

"What will it take to lose that guy?" her capturer's voice suddenly sounded in her ear, a combination of fear and irritation obvious.

Gathering her courage, Erasa slowly opened one of her eyes. All the cars were rapidly shooting past her on both sides, but none of them seemed to get close to her. Slowly turning her head, she managed to look underneath her armpit and see behind her.

Despite the chaos that the four motor riders were causing by speeding right through the traffic jam, another motorcycle was following them on an insane speed as well. And on that bike, even from this distance, Erasa could easily recognize the person driving it.

'_The Commander. Maybe he really is going to save u-_'

"Aargh!" a sudden change of direction had shocked Erasa; they were suddenly speeding towards a very flat car. The trunk door only inches above the floor and the entire car's form was smooth. But what worried Erasa most of all, was that the car was standing right next to the dividing rail between the two directions of the traffic.

'_Don't tell me he's going to-!_'

"AARGH!"

Erasa screamed out loud as her worst fear became reality. Johnson had directed his bike directly towards the car and had hit it first. His speed, as well as the form of the car, had caused him to jump and fly over the rail. With a sickening crush, he landed right on another car on the other side of the rail. His bike didn't seem to be having any problems with the blunt impact though. It sped off like an arrow from a bow almost as soon as it came into contact.

The other three duos, riding in a straight line towards the same car, were quick to also fly. Erasa and her driver were the last in the line, Sharpener and Alpha-10 being the first of the three.

When they were in the air, however, something else happened that Erasa would never believe was possible happened. The motorcycle in front of her carried Alpha-4 and someone else, who she couldn't see. Alpha-4 was seated at the back but wasn't driving, unlike the other three vehicles where the backseat held the driver. But as soon as they were in the air, Alpha-4 pushed himself of his seat, throwing his body in air. While in mid-air, he quickly grabbed on to a handle at the back of the motorcycle and used his arm to turn himself around, before swinging himself back unto his seat.

All of it had taken less then 2 seconds, but to Erasa it was like watching a movie in slow motion.

Erasa braced herself for a harsh impact with the cars, but was surprised by how light the contact was. She hardly felt it.

'_This thing must have some real good springs attached underneath._'

As her driver sped up once again, she could see Alpha-4 draw his handgun from its holster underneath his shoulder and receive the gun from his driver at the same time. He aimed both guns at the back of the traveling group.

It didn't take Erasa very long to figure out what he was doing.

'_He's going to shoot at the Commander while we're driving!_'

---

'_A risky maneuver. The Captain must be getting desperate._'

The Commander didn't waste single second in following the path that the Alpha-captain and his men had taken. The car was still intact, so it would allow him to jump over the rail as well. He quickly gave another speed burst as he reached for the larger vehicle.

- Clank-

With a small noise and a miniscule shock, the Commander launched himself of the car as well.

- Bang- - Bang-

'_Damnit,_' the commander thought as he was suddenly under fire again, '_a trap. But nothing I can't handle._'

In an effort to evade the gunfire, the commander quickly threw his weight to the side, turning his motorcycle to the side as an effect. In the same fluid motion, he drew his personal weapons from their holsters on his back, aimed at the enemy motorcycle and shot.

- Boom-

Knowing that their initial attempt had failed, the driver and gunner, who the commander recognized as Alpha-4 and Alpha-12, quickly turned on the bike once again and shot off. The Commander was not so lucky. The mid-air turn had cost him all his build up speed and before he could turn his vehicle and activate the engine again, his quarry had already disappeared from few.

'_With the current amount of traffic on the outer ring and the police and my men watching for them, it's impossible to escape from the city. They won't escape me._'

When he was following their trail again, thanks to the heat-vision in his helmet, the Commander noticed and recognized his surroundings

'_Old Orange City. This will be the place for our final showdown then._'

---

"We'll stop over there!" Johnson commanded, slowing down his bike in the process. Videl saw the others follow up his orders and slow their vehicles as well.

"Alpha-4 and Alpha-12, hide the bikes, we'll need them later. Alpha-10 and Alpha-3, you guys follow me and take your hostages with you."

'_Now what is he going to do?_'

"We'll stay in here for now." Johnson said as he pushed a heavy double door open. The sight inside impressed Videl, even in the current situation.

Age and inattention had taken their toll on the large building, but it was easy to see it was once a great and beautiful. There were benches made of wood, which had started to rot or was otherwise damage, which would have been standing in rows if they were still taken care off. As they were, however, it gave of a look of chaos more then anything else. Some of them had fallen backwards, or stood at strange angles. Several large pillars that once held up the sealing had fallen over and now lay on the ground. Two of them had apparently slammed into each other and were not standing diagonally thanks to each other's support. Many of the once great windows were shattered or broken, glass lying on the floor behind the window frame. The ceiling, which was at least 7 meters high, had several large, gapping, holes in it, allowing Videl to clearly see the sky and the quickly gathering rain clouds through it. The ceiling would hardly be able to stop any of the rain that was sure to come in a few minutes. The only thing that was still intact, as if by a miracle, was the large altar at the back.

"Where are we?" Videl heard Erasa's voice full of surprise and awe as she, too, had taken in the appearance of the building.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, if you have any prayers to say, now would be the time to do so. You're in the house of the lord now." Johnson said. He didn't sound sarcastic, but he didn't sound too sincere either.

"We've hidden the bikes in another empty building nearby," Alpha-12 announced as he and Alpha-4 entered the building, "no sign of the Commander yet sir. Maybe we lost him? Our distraction might have bought us all the time we needed."

"I hope so," Johnson spoke quietly, "But all of you make sure your weapons are fully loaded and functional. It looks like we have a storm coming soon."

'_The way he said it,_' Videl thought, '_it bothers me. Is he talking about the actual weather or the Commander?'_

"Seriously, where the hell are we?" Sharpener said, struggling against his bonds. At his question Johnson looked up slowly.

"You kids probably don't know, since all religions kinda fell into dismay a few decades back, so let me explain it to you." as he was talking he lit another cigarette before turning to clean and reload his handgun. "For thousands of years, people have believed in different religions, you might have learned some of it in history classes. But the last two hundred years or so, people started believing in religion less and less. Apparently, like all other things, religions go in and out of fashion. There was a time when every one was a Christian, another when the Muslims were the greatest of the religious groups and after that the Jews grew above them all. But for the past few hundred years, less and less people have been keeping to a religion. As a result, the number of churches and other religious buildings got reduced, because there was simply not enough money around anymore to keep them all running."

Johnson was done with his handgun and now moved on to check his larger rifle before he continued with his story.

"So a lot of churches and mosque's were abandoned, but destroying them would cost even more money, so they let the things rot instead, waiting for nature, the city or the locals to do it for them. This particular church is placed in the area most commonly referred to as Old Orange City. This place was already down in the dumps before you're father" – he pointed at Videl as he spoke- "Became a hero and got the city renamed. Now it mostly houses homeless people that no one bothers with. Understand?"

Videl gave a quick nod, just like she saw Sharpener and Erasa do from her sides.

"Good, Alpha-10, Alpha-12 and Alpha-3 could you get those three to someplace where it's unlikely they'll get hit by a way-ward bullet? Because I'll bet the Commander will be here within the hour."

Videl felt one of the three men guide her as she rose, just as the rain finally broke loose. A few small drops at first, but in a few seconds it had already turned into a full-force pour-down.

'_I hate autumn._' Videl thought as she, Erasa and Sharpener were guided to a small room next to the main hall. Just before they entered, Videl could suddenly hear someone else, someone she didn't want to see, but at the same time she was glad to see for some reason, speaking up.

"You underestimate me Captain, and for that you will pay dearly."

* * *

And that ends this chapter. The reason for the CCDD's existence is revealed and most of the theories that Vegeta is the Commander are destroyed. Next chapter will finally have the battle between the Commander and Johnson and his men, look forward to it! 

It'd like to thank my beta's Zephyr-Tai-Ji and MirrorsofIllusion for their hard work on this chapter.

Happy holidays to you all, and please tell me what you think of this little Christmas present in a review.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters. I'm borrowing them (without asking) for some fun.

* * *

'_Of all the possible places to hide, they chose a church? I can almost feel the irony._' 

Having gained some speed again, the Commander had quickly chased after the Alpha-Captain and his men by following the heat left behind by their bikes. They were obviously expecting him to be unable to follow them so quickly; otherwise they would have chosen a more secure shelter. As it was, the CCDD personal was convinced that the motorcycles were completely untraceable. And they were right, for the most part, but the Capsule Corporation was the company that created the vehicles and they were the only ones with the technical knowledge and ability to create tracking devices to find them.

'_But before I enter, I'll make sure I'm fully prepared for a fight._' the commander added in thoughts as he killed the engine some hundreds of meters away from his target. Drawing the gun he had used to defend himself in the motorcycle chase from its casing on his belt he removed its magazine.

The gun, 1 of 2 unique weapons he had designed himself, was much larger then the average gun. The barrels of this and its twin, which the Commander still had strapped on his belt, were 35 cm long and fire 13mm shells. The size and weight of the guns would ensure firepower unrivaled by any other semi-automatic handgun. It also meant that very few people would be able to wield the weapons successfully. Each of the guns could hold only 20 shells, but it would be more then enough.

'_And even if they're not enough,_' the Commander added, once again in thought, '_I've always got quick reload ready._'

Three bullets were missing from it. He drew the three casings from his pockets and started to refill the clip. Emptying his clip in a fight was one thing, having to refill a clip was something completely different.

'_Now then, time to proceed._'

-Drip-

At the sudden water drop on his helmet, the Commander looks up, surprised. Above him, the clouds are growing darker and darker, a sign that a storm is soon coming.

'_I would almost forget that it's autumn._'

Not wasting any more time, he continues on to his objective, only stopping when he's inches from the door and can hear their conversation. The captain's voice is clear through the building, even as the rain starts to fall down heavily.

"Good." He heard, "Alpha-10, Alpha-12 and Alpha-3, could you get those three to someplace where it's unlikely that they'll get hit by a way-ward bullet? Because I'll bet the Commander will be here within an hour."

'_And this is where I make my entrance._' The commander thought as he pushed open the door. Walking through the small hall, he hears the sound of someone being moved.

His boots sounds unnaturally hard on the cold stone floors, echoing across the building.

A sudden lightning-flash temporarily lights everything, followed a second later by the rumbling, hiding his approach for the shortest of seconds.

-RRRRMMMMMMMMMMMMMMPPPPHHHHHHH-

He stops just a few steps away from where he will enter complete visibility. Only now does he speak up.

"Once again," he started, seeing the sudden shock on the faces of his enemies, "You underestimate me, captain. And for that, you will pay dearly."

---

As soon as the Commander had spoken, Videl could see the three men who were holding her tense up. Alpha-10, who was holding her, turned slightly, allowing Videl to look around. Alpha-4 was right next to his weapon; Johnson's rifle was a few feet in front of him, meaning he'd have to get near the Commander to get it. The Commander reached behind his back for something. As he pulled something free from behind his back, Videl could see that he had just drawn two guns.

"Those aren't guns." Sharpener suddenly said, "Those are freaking cannons!"

- DONG! -

Somewhere above them a bell suddenly ringed to announce the passing of time. At the same time, everyone broke into action. Alpha-4 dove towards his gun; Johnson jumped back and at the same time pulled a handgun from behind his back.

Videl, Sharpener and Erasa were pushed back, causing them to fall as well, by Alpha-10, while the other two jumped to the side towards their guns. The Commander raised his weapons to shoulder level at the same time.

- DONG! -

And suddenly, like happened not half an hour ago, all hell broke loose. The Commander shot one of his guns at Johnson, but missed due to the jump backward. The bullet instead went on to hit the metallic shrine in the back of the church. The solid metal exploded on contact with the projectile. As soon as the bullet was fired, Alpha-4 fired his rifle.

Videl could see everything happen as if was in slow motion.

The Commander did a summersault, without using his hands, and jumped back as soon as he had landed again, dodging the volley that the small man fired at him. The bullets instead shattered what was left of some of the windows. Johnson shot his handgun as soon as the Commander landed. He was trying to get to his own rifle again. In answer, the Commander rolled to the left, causing the bullet to hit the solid wooden door instead. He quickly got up and aimed at Johnson again.

- DONG! -

Johnson had managed to reach his rifle, but he couldn't take aim because the commander shot his weapon again; instead he too rolled to the side before standing and opening fire. The Commander didn't jump, but instead started running to the right, towards Alpha-4.

'_Why's he running towards the other gunner?'_ Videl thought as she saw everything going on.

Her answer was given as, suddenly, three more guns that roared to life. Alpha-10, Alpha-12 and alpha-3 had reached their weapons and opened fire on their former boss. The Commander continued his running, suddenly jumping forward and rolling, still aiming towards Alpha-4.

- DONG! -

As he ran, the commander aimed his left gun towards Alpha-4, the right still clutched in his hand. Instantly the small man jumped to the side as the enormous weapon shot a third projectile. As Alpha-4 rolled to the side, got up and ran between the benches, the Commander crouched behind one of the pillars on the ground. In the second of time that there was a pause, Videl could see the devastation that had happened in so small a time. Several of the benches had been severely damaged by the volley aimed at the Commander.

- DONG! -

Johnson quickly moved to the right, still aiming his weapon at the pillar the commander was hiding behind, and Alpha-12 moved in the opposite direction; a pincer attack. But at the same time, the Commander got up from his hiding place, took aim towards Alpha-3 with his left and Alpha-12 with his right, and opened fire. Each gun's explosive sound could be heard multiple times; the targeted men jumped to the side, the bullets aimed towards Alpha-3 shattering a part of a bench behind their original target. The bench broke in two as the five men opened fire to return to volley in kind.

- DONG! -

Running to the side, performing a dive, jump and cartwheel along the way, The Commander headed towards Johnson once again. The green-haired man released one hand from his rifle and redrew his handgun. Both weapons opened fire on the Commander, who rolled to the side once again, shooting in mid-roll. Even without dodging, the bullet missed Johnson and instead damaged one of the pillars. Again all guns were aimed at a target.

- DONG! -

The Commander's right bullet was meant for Alpha-4, but because of the running done by the small man it missed and instead shattered another window; the left bullet was evaded by Alpha-12 with a roll to the right as he returned fire. Again the commander was running, jumping and rolling, but this time the sound of his guns being fired could be heard while he was running. Videl had already lost track of how often he had fired. But while he was running and shooting he suddenly put his right-handed gun back in the holster on his back.

- DONG! -

For a second, the firing had stopped; the other gunmen didn't want their weapons to get jammed so they had stopped firing for a second. In that second, the Commander jumped up and raised his right arm. Suddenly something shot free from just above his hands and hooked itself behind the two diagonal pillars. Videl suddenly realized he had shot some sort of rope from his arm as she saw him rapidly climbing towards the pillars. No more then a second later, Johnson and his men re-opened fire before he reached the pillars. But the Commander was still a moving target, and their bullets missed as he jumped up on the top of the two pillars. Now he had the advantageous position.

- DONG! -

Instantly, the Commander redrew his right gun and, taking aim with both weapons, opened fire again. His opponents scattered and quickly returned fire, but the angle was obviously too difficult. Their bullets either missed him, or got stuck on the stone of the pillars. But Alpha-3 managed to run back far enough to get a good aim at him. Apparently, keeping track of five different targets was quite a challenge, even for the Commander. He noticed just before the shot was fired and quickly jumped backwards, taking a freefall from the top of the pillars. Spinning in mid-air, the Commander fired his weapons one last time. The extremely high recoil, obvious now that he no longer had solid footing, caused him to fly back while falling; even in mid-air he had evaded the rain of bullets that were directed towards him. As soon as he landed he looked around.

- DONG! -

The Commander was standing right in front of Videl, Sharpener and Erasa, with his back to one of the pillars. Videl was still stunned at what had happened when she suddenly saw the Commander push a button on the side of each gun. The magazines slid out of the weapons and fell on to the ground.

'_Now he's going to reload?_' Videl thought, '_That'll take way too much time!_'

But, before she could voice her concerns, suddenly two other magazines appeared. These were, apparently, held by some sort of mechanical system from behind the large golden belt-buckle that the commander was wearing and were positioned slightly diagonal. The Commander slammed his guns onto them, with what could only be an extremely practiced movement, pushed the guns a bit more to ensure the cartridges were secured and then held the guns by his head, still crouching, to ensure save action.

'_Is he waiting for the next bell-ring?' _

But there was no next bell-ring. The Commander stayed crouched for a few seconds, an eerie silence hanging over the church-turned-battlefield.

---

"Amazing how you never really appreciate someone's capabilities until they're used against you, isn't it?" Alpha-3 spoke as he shouldered his gun and aimed at the Commander's hideout.

"Yeah, not a single bullet hit anyone yet but my adrenaline is pumping!" Alpha-12 answered.

"I knew we should have brought along some grenades." Alpha-4 stated his voice full of excitement.

"Let's take the initiative and attack." Alpha-10 said. Silently the four masked men moved into a memorized pattern as they moved forward. Forming a square, the tried to ambush the Commander; meanwhile Johnson stayed back and aimed for his current hiding place. If he stood up, a bullet would instantly pierce his helmet and kill him.

'_Let's hope everything ends here. We have the advantage in numbers; we just might be able to win.__ If my count is right, he still has 2 bullets left in his right gun and 3 in his left. He'll probably change magazines but we survived the first encounter.'_ He thought.

He quickly checked each of his men. They were on high alert, but he could also see the look of excitement each of them had underneath their masks; like him, they were feeling the thrill of this battle.

A sweat drop slides down the side of his face, but he couldn't swipe it away; a second of distraction and he could well end up dead.

As the drop fell from his face and hit the ground, everyone burst into action again.

---

From her position on the ground, Videl could see the Commander suddenly moving again. She heard, rather then saw, the reaction.

The Commander dove to the side, and suddenly guns were ablaze again. a second later, Videl could see everything again; the Commander had moved back far enough for Videl to see him over the pillar.

All the automatic guns were shooting, the Commander was rolling and jumping like mad to evade the bullets, but he never changed his course; he was going straight for Alpha-10.

'_How the hell can he evade all of those bullets? That's impossible!_'

But before Videl had a chance to think it over, the loud bang of the Commander's guns echoed through the building once again. From a few foot away he had opened fire on Alpha-10 while evading to the side. Alpha-10 jumped to the other side; the walls just behind the former location of his shoulder suddenly exploded from the impact. As soon as the Alpha-10 wasn't in their line of fire, the other 3 guns were spitting bullets once more.

But it seemed like the Commander was through with running away all the time; he was maneuvering around like before, but now he returned fire while running, diving or using acrobatic maneuvering. Videl suddenly lost the Commander out of sight for a moment, but the gunfire didn't stop. Obviously, Johnson and his men still had him in their sight.

Suddenly the Commander stood up, far closer then before she had lost sight of him and the bench in front of him was kicked up. It stopped all the bullets from that side for a second, allowing him to aim and fire at Alpha-12.

While he had been missing from Videl's sight, the Commander had slided on his back down the aisle to avoid the shots that were all at body height. He had continued to fire at their knees and legs, but again he had failed to hit his target.

But the bench could only take so much punishment and it gave way after the Commander had aimed and shot once. Like all the other times, Alpha-12 had been on the move and the bullet had missed. Instead the wall just behind his right ear gained a new hole in it.

'_Wait a second; his shots are becoming more accurate!_' Videl suddenly realized. '_He's getting used to their movements and improving his aim!_'

"This is getting nowhere" Johnson's voice was much closer then she had thought he'd be. He was standing just on the other side of the pillar. "He's too fast and even if we manage to hit him, there's a chance his armor will deflect the bullets from a medium range."

"Sir, give me your handgun." A heavy voice suddenly said. 'One of the other team members is standing next to him. Must be Alpha-3 or Alpha-10; the voice is to low to be Alpha-4's'

"I'll get to him in close range, that'll keep him busy for a few seconds. Then you guys can open fire and this will be over with."

"Ok, give me your rifle; it's too big and heavy for close combat. Just be careful."

"No risk, no victory." The other man answered. As he ran towards the Commander, Videl could see it was Alpha-10 and that he was now carrying two handguns; one belonging to Johnson and his own weapon. As Johnson emerged, she saw he was now carrying two large rifles. He used both to cover for Alpha-10's approach by distracting the Commander.

The others noticed the large man's sudden charge as well. Alpha-3, Alpha-4 and Alpha-12 quickly opened fire at the Commander to prevent him attacking.

"What the hell is that guy doing?!" Sharpener suddenly yelled from next to Videl.

But it became obvious a second later. Alpha-10 and the Commander were only feet away from each other when the five rifles stopped shooting. Instantly, the 2 gunmen started to move.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Sharpener suddenly yelled. He had recognized what was going on while Videl was still trying to see what was going on.

"This isn't a fucking manga! Don't tell me they're suddenly going to be pulling Gun Fu!"

"Gun Wh…" Videl said, but at the same time her question was answered.

The Commander raised his arm to take aim at his opponent's head, but Alpha-10 slammed his arm away and shot with the gun in that hand. The Commander turned to Alpha-10's other side, and shot with his gun at stomach height; right through his coat. But Alpha-10 had spun around as well, now they were back-to-back. Both stepped forward and turned on the spot. The Commander quickly raised his gun while Alpha-10 aimed it up from below. Both men were pointing guns at their opponent's head. Alpha-10 was looking straight into the Commander's gun, while the commander could almost take a bit out of Alpha-10's. They shot at the same time, both jerking their heads to a different side; both shots, miraculously, missed.

At once, the two burst into movement. Spinning, slapping and kicking at the short range, they fired their guns at any chance they got.

'They're hitting everything they can hit but each other.' Videl thought.

"AARGH!"

Suddenly the equilibrium was broken. Screaming in pain, Alpha-10 crashed to the floor. The commander had managed to hit his kneecap and, with the powerful guns and bullets he uses, the entire joint was destroyed. Blood splattered across the floor around the pair; Alpha-10's lower leg was no separated from the rest of his body.

"Now!" Johnson yelled. Again all five rifles roared and again bullets were flying at a mad pace. But it was much shorter then any of the volley's before. Then Videl heard something strange. It was clicking. Videl instantly recognized the sound.

"They're out of bullets!" she shouted.

"Thank god!" Erasa's voice was soft and scared.

But when Videl saw the Commander, she noticed that his right gun was also looking strange. The slide was back, instead of having moved back into its original position after his last shot. The left gun was still looking normal, but Videl suddenly realized what was going on.

'_He's almost out of bullets as well._'

All four men still standing threw their rifles to the side. Alpha-3, Alpha-4 and Alpha-12 drew their handguns, while Johnson moved away.

'_Of course._' Videl thought as she saw the greenhead's movements. '_He doesn't have his handgun anymore._'

Again the sounds of gunfire sounded, but it was obvious that the commander was far superior to his subordinates when fighting with semi-automatics. He charged towards Alpha-4, not even bothering to shoot, jumped just before the small man opened fire on him, and kicked the gun out of his hand when he coming down. A quick kick to the torso followed to push the masked man away.

While spinning the Commander crouched low and grabbed Alpha-4's gun, discarding his own weapon. Another minute of firing later, the Commander had, in a similar fashion, disarmed Alpha-3 while all three gunmen were continually shooting. Before the Commander reached Alpha-12 though, the Soldier had thrown his gun away; the magazine was empty. Instead he charged towards the Commander, who also threw away Alpha-4's gun because it was out of bullets, and managed to push the large gun in his boss's left hand away before it fired its last shot.

The Commander raised his knee to attack the man on top of him, but Alpha-12 had already moved away. as the Commander stood up again, Videl could see that Johnson, Alpha-3 and Alpha-4 were also getting back up.

"Well," Johnson said after taking a quick look at the situation, "since we're out of bullets, looks like we'll be doing this the old fashion way then."

* * *

A/n:

The first part of the Commander VS Johnson and crew battle. The 2nd and last part will be uploaded next month, I hope you like it.

Now I've been hearing in reviews that a lot of people are expecting more Gohan and more Saiyans. I can understand the Gohan bit and I'll explain.

As Borachio pointed out, so far this story is mostly about the kidnapping and he asked if I was writing an epic story. The answer is yes, I am planning on writing quite a long story and I already have the entire storyline thought out from A to Z. the reason that I'm doing this story arc (with battles on a level that actual humans can compete on) is for 3 reasons:

1: it plays a mayor part in the development of Videl's character.

2: to introduce the Commander

3: to introduce the CCDD

This story arc is nearing its end and afterwards we won't have such a long absence of Gohan again, so bear with me a little longer. And just to give you all something to look forward too: the next story arc and all the ones after that (I won't spoil what'll happen) WILL have DBZ style battles.

And lastly, I like to thank my good friend and Beta Zephyr-Tai-Ji.

Hope you enjoyed it, please let me know what you think.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, it's characters or anything else. I'm using them without permission to entertain myself and hopefully many others as well.

* * *

"Well, since we're out of bullets, looks like we'll be doing this the old fashion way then."

"Old fashion way?" the mechanical voice of the Commander answered.

'_Move a bit away already! I can't see anything at all!_' Videl thought with frustration. '_I don't like not being able to see what's going on. Who knows what these guys are planning._'

"Of course: with honorable man-to-man close combat, what else?"

"Honorable?" the Commander said. To Videl it sounded like he was mocking Johnson, even without emotion in his voice. "You shouldn't use words that you don't know the meaning off Captain!"

"Hey Videl!" Videl looked around in sudden surprise. She had been focusing on the events behind the pillar too much that she had not paid any attention to her friends. And Sharpener's voice was whispering right into her ear.

"What!" she whispers back at him.

"Now that they're occupied, we can cut ourselves loose. I got a pocketknife with me. If you can grab it, we can cut ourselves loose."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier and why do you take a knife with you to school?" Videl asked in surprise.

"Aah, whatever," Johnson's voice sounded from the pillar again, "Whether you like my choice of words or not, we're fighting this out with fists now."

"We don't have time for discussions about this Vi! Just grab the knife and we'll cut each other free. Now hurry." As Sharpener finished talking he laid on his back, his side showing to Videl.

"Ok, but you'll have to tell me how to get it; I can't see what my hands are doing now that they're tied behind my back."

"Sure thing."

"Enough talk, it is time I make you pay for the disgrace you have brought upon us. Pray for forgiveness now that you are in the house of the Lord, because I will not give you any."

From behind the pillar a lot of movement suddenly made itself heard.

---

The Commander took a quick scan of the situation. The captain was standing in front of him, Alpha-3 at his side. Alpha-4 stood to the Commander's left, near enough to attack, while Alpha-12 was behind and far away. Alpha-10 was still lying on the floor bleeding.

'_Four opponents; three that can attack me at once. I'll take the initiative._'

He thought as he charged towards the captain. His charge was met as the Captain rushed right back at him, along with Alpha-3. A fist came flying forward almost faster then the Commander could evade. The Captain had a fast left, but it had brushed past the Commander's shoulder. A counter-punch to the face made the captain back away, just before Alpha-3 swept his legs over the ground. The Commander quickly jumped up to evade that attack.

---

"No Vi, my pocket is a bit lower- little more- good, now move your hand back a bit to get into my pocket." Sharpener gave his descriptions. As Videl looked at the pillar she could see a few things.

The Commander had jumped back and Alpha-4 had jumped after him. The small man kicked with his left, but the commander easily grabbed the foot and returned the kick. Alpha-4 blocked the kick as well. She could see someone grabbing the Commander's feet before he could land as he disappeared behind the pillar once again.

"Is this it?" Videl felt something solid brush against her fingertips.

---

When he was up in the air, the Commander's feet had been grabbed by Alpha-3. Unable to maneuver in mid-air, he could not defend himself as his back was slammed into the ground. His armor and helmet severely reduced the damage but even so he could still feel the shock. Using his other leg, the Commander kicked out towards the masked man. His foot hit his capturer's arm and it let go. As soon as he was released, the Commander rolled back a little and used his arms as springs to jump back up.

---

"No!" Sharpener yelled ashamedly, "That's not the knife. It's a bit deeper in my pocket. Move your hands down a bit more."

"Sharpener!" Erasa suddenly yelled. "Is this really the time to have a hard-on?"

"I can't help it!" Sharpener defended himself. "I'm on an adrenaline high here; being felt up. And besides, the pose you're in right now isn't exactly non-provocative is it!"

"What do you mean!?"

"I mean I can see inside your shirt! You didn't close up the jacket enough!"

Videl knew that both of the blondes were a shade of deep red, even if she couldn't see them. If the situation had been any different, she would have found it amusing, or maybe be embarrassed as well, but now was not the time. Without even realizing it, she whispered something that caused both blonds to look with shock for a second.

"Where is that Caped Moron when you need him?"

She moved her hand deeper down Sharpener's pocket as she could see some more fragments of the fight.

---

Maneuvering around to avoid unnecessary damage, the Commander jumped forward and directly continued his movement into a roll on the ground. Halfway through the roll he was directly at Alpha-12's feet. Instantly the Commander stretched himself completely, kicking his opponent in the face with force.

---

Alpha-12 suddenly flew up; the way his body was held showed that he had been kicked up, but the commander was suddenly jumping back and away from the masked man. A quarter of a second later, Johnson followed in the unmistakable pose of a complete, but missed, uppercut.

"Is this it!?" Videl asked with annoyance in her voice. Her fingers clenched around a small item in Sharpener's pocket.

"Yes, now pull it out and give it to me, I'll cut you loose first."

"Ok. Here you go."

"Now, we have to roll our back to each other. Erasa, you'll have to be my eyes for a bit. Tell me what it is I'm cutting, ok?"

"Got it."

While Sharpener was turning, Videl saw three bodies suddenly jump up again. The Commander, Alpha-4 and Alpha-3 were in the air; the Soldiers were both on a side of the Commander. It would be difficult for him to counter them in that position. At the same time, Alpha-3 and Alpha-4 punched. The Commander quickly pulled up his arms to block, but at the last second both fists opened up and grabbed the long-coated man's arms. A second later, alpha-4 gave a chop to the Commander's neck while Alpha-3 gave a powerful punch in his gut.

'_Damn, he's fighting 5 on 1, there's no way he's going to win. Those guys are all way too good!_'

"Ok, Erasa; tell me how to move."

---

'_Fortunately this armor does more then stop bullets._' The Commander thought as he jumped back up. He felt the punches and kicks, even through his armor, but the damage was severely reduced.

'_But if they keep aiming at vital areas and overwhelming me, even I can't keep fighting for long. I'd best stay at full alert._' Less then a second later he had turned the sound perception of his helmet to maximum; it allowed him to hear every sound around him, making up for the reduced vision his helmet gave him.

As soon as he heard the conformation 'bleep', the Commander charged his enemies once again.

---

"A little to the left- no too far, move back- ok that's it, now down a bit. That's it, be careful when you start cutting, if you miss you'll cut Videl's wrists!"

"I know! No need to make me even more nervous! Vi, don't move and tell me if I hurt you!"

A few seconds later Videl's hands were untied. She quickly stood up to see what was going on.

Apparently, the Commander had been quick to get back on his feet. Alpha-12 was getting back up from what looked like a punch in his stomach. Alpha-4 was in the process of jumping back up; he had somehow fallen on his back at one point. Alpha-3 and Johnson were attacking the Commander again.

Johnson was using a style of boxing; he kept throwing sharp jabs with his left to prevent the Commander's counterattacks. At the same time, Alpha-3 used some form of wrestling attack, he threw a wide swing with his arm, but the Commander ducked underneath it- right into Johnson's kick to the helmet.

'_He's good, but he's outnumbered too much here._' Videl thought grudgingly. '_And the other two are also back up again._'

"Hey Vi, would you mind cutting us free as well? These wristbands are no treat!"

"Right." She answered. The Commander had jumped back a bit further, allowing him to gain some breathing room. His helmet was still intact; it was much stronger then it looked at first sight. She could hear Johnson saying something.

"Damn bastard and his armor clothing. Our punches don't do half the damage they would normally do and his are much harder then anything I had ever imagined it could be."

"Thanks, I'll cut Erasa loose." Sharpener said as he massaged his wrists.

As soon as she had given the knife to Sharpener, Videl positioned herself next to the doorframe.

'_Better to stay hidden, I might need to surprise-attack them._'

But what she saw as she looked at the fight was beyond anything she could have imagined.

---

The Commander was standing in the room, benches all around him were turned over or smashed to pieces, and he was looking at his opponents. Johnson and Alpha-3 stood next to each other, right in front of Videl. Alpha-4 and Alpha-12 were each standing on a side of the Commander, just outside the range of his vision.

At a single nod of Johnson, Alpha-4 and Alpha-12 rushed at the Commander at the same time. Alpha-4 was the first to reach the helmet-wearing fighter. He sent out a quick right punch, but it was parried without difficulty by the commander; he used one hand to deflect the attack, but didn't counter it. Alpha-4 quickly followed up with a series of other punches but all were blocked or parried by the Commander.

The same hand parried his first left punch again; the second attack from his right fist was sidestepped. Alpha-4 continued his attack by sending a kick to the Commander's chest. The Commander blocked the Asian man's kick as simple as anything else, but at the same time his other hand shot out and grabbed the fist of Alpha-12, who had just reached the pair of fighters.

A simple step-and-pull maneuver later the Commander had both of his opponents on the ground. Following up on his advantage, much to Videl's horror, he gave each of them a strong kick in the ribs. Both men gave a loud groan of pain, as the Commander's attack hit them. But before he could continue hitting his downed opponents any longer, he jumped forward, twisted in mid-air and landed facing Johnson who had tried to attack him from behind.

"You two ok?" the green-haired captain asked his men.

"We'll live. He didn't use enough force to crack our ribs. But they're bruised pretty heavy." Alpha-12 said as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Then let us deal with him for now, you two catch your breath for a second."

With that Alpha-3 suddenly made a bull charge towards the Commander, Johnson following in his wake. The Commander answered them by running straight at them as well. A few meters before they would have collided with each other, he jumped up, though nowhere near as high as Videl knew he could. He landed on Alpha-3's head, causing the large man to crash into the stone floor headfirst, jumped again and moved for a powerful, full-swing kick to Johnson's head.

Despite the surprise at the sudden change in tactics by the Commander, Johnson managed to duck under the kick and send in a powerful right counter to the Commander's body. Even though the punch was blocked, the Commander was send flying back a significant distance. But, just as suddenly, Johnson's head was blown back as well. The moment of the counterpunch, the commander had used his other leg to send in a second kick and it had hit its target.

Slowly all 5 fighters got back to their feet. Alpha-4 and Alpha-12 were holding one arm clenched to their sides to aid themselves in the pain. Alpha-3's mask was torn and shred in places, allowing blood to flow from his face. His nose in particular was bleeding rather heavily. Johnson spit out a loose tooth as a small stream of blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth. The only one, who didn't seem to be injured, although it was simply impossible to see because his entire body was covered, was the Commander. As his opponents were getting ready, the leader of the CCDD crouched down and made a charge for the enemies.

Johnson, being the least injured of his men, was the first to stand and counterattack his former boss. A quick left was fired as a greeting and both men were quickly locked in a battle. Johnson obviously using a boxing style, combined with kicking at times to distract or force an opening, and the Commander using a variety of Martial arts that Videl didn't recognize.

Swinging his right arm, the Commander parried Johnson's left, but it was quick to return and attack again. This time the Commander stepped to the side to evade the attack and at the same time launched a chop to Johnson's side. Johnson swung out his right, underneath his left, and slammed his fist into the Commander's arm to stop the attack. As the two were standing locked in the position, the Commander swung back his left arm and gave a devastating back-hand to Johnson's face.

But, as the former captain was flipping over in mid-air, Alpha-4 made a sweeping kick underneath him. It swiped the Commander of his feet, as Alpha-12 and Alpha-3 moved to deal the actual damage. Alpha-3 was smashing his fist into the Commander's stomach, while alpha-12 kicked him in the back from behind. The combined forces of the attack caused the Commander to smash into the floor and bounce backwards a bit.

Despite the damage that the combined attack should have done, the Commander already recovered before he could fall on the ground again and managed to get 1 foot under him as he landed. The result was that it looked like he was kneeling. Before he had a chance to completely recover, Alpha-3 was on him again, quickly followed by Alpha-4 and Alpha-12.

Even in his awkward position, the Commander could use his hands to effectively defend himself from most of their attacks, but the loss of maneuverability became obvious soon; as Alpha-3's and Alpha-4's attacks were being blocked, Alpha-12 managed to get a stomping-kick on the Commander's chest. The Commander rolled with the attack, landing on his back and quickly kicked one of his legs up.

The unexpected attack from the ground hit its mark clear and effectively. Alpha-12 crashed down to the floor, clutching his crotch.

But Alpha-3 and Alpha-4 were still standing and they continued their relentless attacking of the Commander. With his hands and legs free to move as he defended, the Commander could block most of their attacks, but he couldn't stop Alpha-4 from getting some payback as he gave a few vicious kicks into the side of his downed opponent.

Again using the long range of his legs to attack, the Commander managed to kick Alpha-4 in the back and threw him of balance and away. With only one attack remaining, the Commander grabbed Alpha-3's hands and used the momentum from the punch to pull him down onto the ground as well. He rolled with his opponent and landed on top. From there he started a quick and merciless beat down.

Locked down by the weight sitting on top of his chest and arms, Alpha-3 could do nothing as the Commander's fists rained down again and again, hitting his face without mercy or fail. Within the time of a few seconds, Alpha-3 stopped struggling at all.

As the Commander stood up, he was greeted by a sudden and powerful kick in the side from behind; Johnson had gotten back up and attacked again. He had obviously used the time that the Commander had been occupied to recover some of his damage, because he was standing straight and without wobbling.

Without saying a thing, Johnson again charged at the Commander, this time giving a feint with his left as he send out a right hook. Just as the Commander moved to block the punch, Johnson pulled it back and instead gave a kick with his left leg to the Commander's knee. The Commander's leg withstood the blow as his fist had another close encounter with Johnson's nose.

Taking a few steps back, the Commander quickly ducked as Alpha-4, the last standing man of Johnson's group, gave a spinning kick from behind. While he was crouched low, the Commander lifted one leg, started to rotate on the other, grabbed Alpha-4's outstretched leg and kicked hard against his standing leg. His foot made I direct contact with the kneecap of the small man and, not being able to withstand the force of the kick, the small bone shattered.

Alpha-4 went down with the same screams of pain as Alpha-10 had done in what had seemed so long ago, but was no more then 4 minutes of time. 4 minutes that were more violent then any Videl had ever remembered, and longer then any too. Now it was only Johnson and the Commander standing there.

Johnson's nose was bleeding heavily and appeared to have been broken as it was standing out at an odd angle. The bloodstream from the corner of his mouth was far more sever then before as well. It would have been obvious to anyone that he was in a fight he could not possibly win.

'_No way._' Videl thought as she stood, mesmerized, at the scene in front of her. '_He actually defeated them? On his own Johnson doesn't stand a chance! I hate to admit it, but this guy really does back up his talk._'

Apparently Johnson recognized his defeat as well, because he suddenly dropped his stance and fell to his knees. 'He's going to give up?!' Videl thought with some hope. But then she saw the Commander suddenly dashing away as Johnson was quickly standing up. What happened in the next seconds, which felt like hours to Videl, all seemed to slow down significantly.

Johnson was standing with a gun in his right-hand; he had bend down on the ground to pick it up. As he took a shot at the Commander, his target went into another dive, evading the shot just barely, rolled and stood up with one of his own guns in his hand.

2 loud bangs filled the empty and echoing church.

Videl could almost see the two bullets flying, barely passing each other in mid-air as they speeded towards their target.

Johnson's bullet impacted against the Commander's shoulder but it hardly phased him.

The Commander's bullet impacted with the gun in Johnson's hand, penetrated it and exploded inside of the weapon. The resulting explosion, enhanced because of the gunpowder and bullets left in the gun, had nearly the exploding power of a hand grenade.

With the explosion, Johnson's hand vanished in the sudden flame; blood and bone and metal shot away and Videl could see that Johnson's entire right-hand had been destroyed. And some of the metal pieces had damaged his face as well. She could clearly see a small cut running through his right eye, as Johnson gave a howl of pain and crashed to the floor. His left hand was holding on to the stump that had been his right. Blood was flowing freely from the wound and the Commander stood there without any apparent emotions.

And suddenly, Videl felt something hard and dark collide with her face.

The large and heavy wooden door that belonged to the doorframe she was standing in had been blown shut by the wind. And, not having paid any attention to anything but the exchange in the middle of the cathedral, Videl didn't notice that it was closing until it, literally, hit her.

More from shock and surprise then actual pain, Videl fell back and landed on her behind.

"Aauw." She cried. The impact had hurt. She'd landed right on her tailbone.

"What happened Videl? Are you hurt?" the scared voice of Erasa came from somewhere behind her.

"No, everything's fine." She said as she stood up and rubbed the painful area. "I just got surprised when the door slammed close in my face and I fell on my butt"

As she looked around, she saw that Erasa was hiding behind a section of the walls and she was holding onto Sharpener far too tight. She was obviously scared beyond what Videl had even thought of. Even Sharpener looked a bit white, although that might have also been from the suffocating hold that Erasa had on him.

"Erasa, calm down. It looks like everything is over."

"You mean that the Commander defeated Johnson and those other guys?" she asked with obvious relieve.

"Yes. It looks like it. He got all of them down for the count. Now get up and let's get out of here already."

As Videl was leading the way to the door, she suddenly stopped. She had realized something. Turning around to face Sharpener, and Erasa who was still hiding behind him, she gave them a quick order.

"Guys, I'm going to open the door a little first, maybe one of those guys is awake again and might try something. And I don't trust this Commander guy one bit. I'll take a look first and then tell you if it's clear ok?"

"Ok." "Yeah sure."

As Videl slowly opened the door and took a quick peek, she saw another disturbing and shocking image.

Alpha-4 was sitting on the ground, on his knees, in front of the Commander. He was looking straight at his former superior officer, and he was saying something. Videl couldn't really hear what they were whispering about. She noticed that the Commander had his guns back in their place on his belt again and that Alpha-4's leg was bent at an awkward angle in the knee.

'_What're_they doing?'

Just as she thought it, the two raised their voices to normal levels again. Videl could just barely hear what they were saying.

"Sir?" Alpha-4 spoke. Videl could hear the fear in his voice, but there was also something else. It sounded like relief. "What about my family? Are they going to hear about what I did?"

In response the Commander said something that Videl could remember hearing somewhere before. She just didn't know where.

"I will tell your tale to those who ask, and I will tell it truly. The ill deeds, along with the good. And I will let them judge you accordingly. The rest… is silence"

"Thank you sir."

And then, without any prior warning, the Commander suddenly grabbed one of his guns, pointed it at the head of Alpha-4 and pulled the trigger…

- BANG -

* * *

A/N:

And that ends the fighting for this saga. Next chapter will Videl confronts the Commander and get a few rued awakenings.

Thnx to Zephyr-Tai-Ji for his help with beta-ing and discussing most of the action that occurred here.

As always please review and tell me what you think.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonbal, Dragonbal Z or any of it's characters. They belong to other people who I don't want to anger.

* * *

- BANG -

Videl couldn't turn away from what she was seeing. No matter how much she wanted to look at anything else, to shut her eyes shut or do anything at all not to look at what was going on, for some reason her eyes wouldn't move away from it.

She couldn't look away as the Commander, her hated savior, did something that could only be called an execution on his former subordinate.

"NOOO!"

But her scream of terror fell on deaf ears. The bullet was shot and within a fraction of a second, it had done its job. Before Alpha-4 could even bend backwards from the force of the shot, the stone floor was turned a scattered red, with bits and pieces of things Videl didn't even want to think of scattered here and there.

For a second the Commander just stood there, his gun at his side as he looked at the image in front of him; to Videl it almost looked like he was savoring the moment.

Numb with shock, not even realizing what she was doing, Videl slowly walked towards the body of a man she had fought mere hours ago; a man who had proven to be an able fighter and had pushed her to her best. And now that man lied there, never to move again.

All by the hands of that man that was standing there, as if nothing had ever happened.

And now, that man was removing his belt. His coat was following almost right after.

'What on earth is he doing?'

- ping – ping- ping- ping-

Videl could suddenly see the pieces of metal that fell from his coat; they made a sound that was very loud in the otherwise completely silent cathedral. Both Johnson and Alpha-10 had passed out from their injuries.

"What's that?" even through her shock, Videl's voice was steady. The question escaped her lips before she could think.

"Bullets." The Commander answered simply as he threw his coat over Alpha-4's head. "You didn't think I would have been able to dodge all of them did you? Over five hundred bullets have been shot at me in less then 3 hours time. Even I couldn't have evaded that many. There's a good reason I wear armor."

Videl, returned to her silent state of shock, got a good look at the coat-less Commander. Apparently his coat was the only thing he was wearing that wasn't armored. His 'shirt' was either very formfitting or made to look like he was heavily muscled and now she could see it was also a piece of armor, made of some sort of metal she had never seen. The sleeves, which stretched his entire arms and flowed into his gloves, were made from the same material. She could also see the mechanism on his right hand that shot the cable; it didn't look at that long or strong, but apparently the looks were very deceiving.

The Commander suddenly turned around and started walking towards the door of the church. Without thinking, Videl suddenly yelled at him.

"Where are you going!?"

"Outside." He answered without turning or even slowing his stride. "This building is interfering with the transmission of my radio and I need to contact my men."

'_Listen to him! He talks as if it's something he does every other day! How can he not even care about what he did?!_'

Without thinking of the possible consequences, Videl ran after him. She ran after someone that she had deemed a merciless and ruthless killer.

"The hostages are safe and the enemy is eliminated. Bring the second van here and prepare to transport 8 people. 1 dead, 2 severely injured. And be sure to bring along enough people to ride the motorcycles back; we will not leave them here unguarded." The Commander had given his orders almost as soon as he walked through the large double wooden door. He left the transmission open so the rest of the CCDD could pinpoint their coordinates.

He looked up at the sky. The storm was still blowing strong, but up ahead he could already see clearer skies coming into view. Apparently, the storm was a short-lived one.

'_And so I've killed again._' the thought to himself. '_And still I'm amazed at how easy it goes. It gets easier every single time I do it. It's truly a shame that happens._'

"Why did you do that!?"

Turning around the Commander could see her standing there; Videl Satan. Already she was drenched from the rain, her hair sticking down to her face and her clothes sticking to her frame.

"Why did I do what, Miss Satan?"

"Kill him."

'_Aah, the question that everyone always wants to know; why, what was the motivation. In this case, an easy question to answer._'

"He asked me too." His answer was as simple as it could be.

"What do you mean?" her voice had changed from anger and even fear to nothing short of absolute surprise. '_Foolish._' The Commander judged her with his thought. _'She thought she would know him after so short a time?_'

"Yes, Soldier Alpha-4 asked me to kill him. He did not wish to live with the shame of being defeated twice, disobeying orders of his superior and living with the mercy of said superior. All I did was honoring his request."

"No… that's got to be a lie or something! Why would he do that?" even more surprise was in her voice now.

"Why? For a very simple reason Miss Satan; he felt that his family's honor was more important than his own life. And if he had lived, his entire family would have been brought into great shame. That's all there is too it."

"You shouldn't have killed him."

"We can keep this up all day long, but the fact remains I did and nothing you can do will change it. Learn to live with it Miss Satan."

"How can you do that?" the small girl walked up to the Commander and shouted. "How can you so easily take the life of another person? He was someone you knew, a colleague! Yet you killed him just like that, not even waiting a second or anything!"

"Would you think it kinder if I had him feel the fear of looking into his death for a long time? Let him stare into the gun that would kill him? I killed him as quickly as I could, there was no need for him to feel doubt or fear after he had made his decision. And you ask how I could do it? I simply could. Like so many other things in life, killing becomes easier the more you do it."

"If you can say that so easily, then you're nothing more then a monster. You're something that kills without a second thought or feelings. You're nothing more then a murderer." She spat the last word at him, the greatest possible hatred behind it.

"You claim me to be a monster just because I claim to have killed more then 1 person? Because I say it becomes easier with each time? Then I must say you are quite a hypocrite. Or do you also call your father a murderer and a monster when you're away from the masses?"

A look of shock suddenly appeared on the black-haired girl's face.

"What!? What do yo-"

"Does your father not proudly boast of killing 8 different beings?" The Commander interrupted her. "And I believe he has been granted eternal fame for it as well. In fact, I'm quite sure everyone on the planets loves him for it; he is the most loved serial killer in existence."

"Don't you dare call my father a serial killer!"

"Why not? You have seen me take the life of 1 man and you make such a crisis out of it, but you hail your father for killing 8 people? And don't say that this case is different. Here, I killed Alpha-4 of his OWN request. Your father claims he killed Cell and his 7 little henchmen without any problems, killed them all because the entire planet asked him too. If that's true, then it is no different from an execution is it not? The masses wanted their blood and he gave it to them; he is the executioner, not me."

For the first time in a very long while, Videl was left speechless. This man- no this monster - standing in front of her, a man who killed without any mercy, claimed her father was a worse killer then he was. And she couldn't disagree with him, because her father had taken those 8 lives. And he had always said that none of them were a match for him.

Did that really make him so different from an executioner?

Lost in her thoughts, Videl clenched her fists together in anger.

"How did you get loose?"

'_What?_' Videl was stunned by the sudden question. The Commander obviously wanted to change the subject of conversation.

"Sharpener had a pocketknife with him. We cut ourselves loose with it." Her answer was almost automatic, her thoughts were elsewhere. But suddenly something else penetrated her thoughts. Something else that had been seen this evening; something she needed to talk about.

"I saw the fight. Or most of it anyway."

"Yes I know." The Commander answered. He had turned away again while she was distracted; she was, again, looking at the large man's broad back.

"How? You couldn't have seen me with all that chaos going on!"

"Did you not wonder how it is that I could evade an attack from behind or somewhere else in a blind spot? This helmet limits my vision, so as a means to compensate I turn the audio receivers to maximum. It allows me to hear my enemy's breathing behind me and your heavy breathing and yelps of surprises when you saw the fight. With that system I have an increase in hearing of about 500 percent. Very useful thought it takes some getting used too."

"I see." The new information had thrown Videl off track for a second. Before she could continue, the Commander spoke up again.

"But the fact you bring it up means you have something about it you wish to 'discuss'. Allow me take a guess; knowing your naivety, you're probably going to complain about the way I fought, am I correct?"

"Yes, I am. I'll admit you are probably 1 of the most skilled fighters I've ever seen, but why did you use dirty tricks like that?"

"Why shouldn't I have?" his answer, even though his voice was deprived of emotion, sounded mocking.

"Because it was simply dirty! Someone like you, who is so strong a fighter, shouldn't use attacks like that! Only cowards would fight that way."

"Perhaps. But sometimes it's only the cowards who manage to survive. And why should I not fight like I did? I fought with everything I had, gave it my best and I emerged victoriously because of it."

"You cheated."

"Then what should I have done according to you Miss Satan?" As he spoke the Commander made a half turn, one shoulder pointing at Videl as he looked at her. "Fight 'fairly'? Risking my life just so you wouldn't have to see reality? I treat my enemies as I would have them treat me, Miss Satan. I will fight without holding back, because I expect them to do the same. And I would consider it a greater insult to defeat an opponent who was holding back then being defeated by someone who gave his all."

"You can give your all in a fight witho-"

"No, Miss Satan, you can't. Fighting with everything you have means using every opening you have, even if it's a 'low blow'. In real battle you don't have the luxury of mercy or treating your enemies kindly. They certainly won't do the same for you."

"I've fought plenty of thugs and I've never had to use anything dirty to win. I can win while still fighting fair. So what you say is bullshit." Videl shouted in rage.

"Then that very statement means you lie. Fighting 'fair' against a far inferior opponent? The mere fact that you are vastly superior in fighting skills already means the fight isn't fair anymore. It means you can fight while holding back."

"It's still better then what you did!" Videl suddenly dropped her voice to just above a whisper as she turner her head away. "The way you fight is just plain wrong."

"'Wrong?' You keep going on about 'wrong' and 'fair'." Now the Commander completely turned around. Videl raised her head to look at him as he raised his voice.

"Tell me Miss Satan, how stupid and naive are you? You think the world will abide by your standards? That everyone will be nice and keep to the rules? Wake up! This world we live in is harsh and cruel; it punishes the smallest of mistakes and rewards only the greatest of achievements. You yourself are a crime fighter; you should know better then anyone that people everywhere will always break the rules. Up until now you've faced opponents who were no real enemies. Opponents that were scared of you, scared of your name, or that were far too weak to even be considered an opponent. But be honest with me, when have you ever faced an enemy that you knew could, and would, kill you? When have you stared death in the face and fought it?"

Even though his voice was being deprived of emotion, the fact that the Commander was shouting out those words in her face meant that he was really losing his cool. But Videl could feel her own anger boiling up and she shouted back at him.

"I've faced death plenty of times! Every single crook and criminal that I've fought used guns or knives; all of them could have killed me if I only made 1 error!"

"Yes, you've faced a gun before. But those were guns held in the hands of morons, cowards who would surrender just by hearing your name. It is a completely different matter to face a gun in the hands of an expert, someone who knows how to use it and how not to use it; someone who does not fear death, neither dying nor killing."

"Some of them we-"

Videl was interrupted, again, as she tried to counter the Commander's statement. This time, a large van had arrived. Almost instantly, 5 of the CCDD soldiers jumped out and ran towards the duo.

"Sir! We have arrived as per your orders. We'll begin to move the hostages and the traitors back towards the school building and from there take all the traitors to a private location for questioning."

"Excellent." The Commander's voice had dropped to its normal volume again. And again, he sounded like he was without emotion or care.

"One more thing sir." the Soldier spoke up as the others moved into the church. "The police force, the press, the hostages and the World Champion all demand that you appear and explain the situation. I fear we won't be able to get away without doing as they ask or risk causing serious harm to the Capsule Corporation."

"I understand. A shame, but something we can't avoid then. Get to work Omega-3. Be sure to put the hostages in a save location in the buss. And treat the body of Alpha-4 with a little respect. You and Omega-19 ride back with the van, the others will follow me on the motorcycles. If we must make our presence publicly know, we'll do it with some style."

"Yes Sir!"

As the Commander walked away to where he left his motorcycle, Videl was guided into the back of the van by Omega-3.

The ride back had been uneventful; the police had intercepted and escorted the CCDD-ers halfway to the school building. Upon arriving, the gathered press almost immediately showered them with questions. The Commander was hardly given the time to step of his vehicle. As soon as he was, he turned towards his subordinates and ordered them to release the hostages out of their van.

The instance that the three teenagers had shown their faces, the entire crowd burst out into loud cheers, yelling in happiness and other stupid cries of apparent success.

'_They were only gone for about an hour._' The Commander thought as he moved towards a would-do podium for his short press conference. '_There's no need to make such a big deal out of it._'

By the time the Commander reached his place, the silence was slowly returning to the crowd. All the reporters, who had been taking plenty of pictures of the happy return of the hostages, started turning towards him, preparing to ask their questions.

'_This amount of reporters will not let me have any breathing space._' The Commander silently concluded. '_I'd best make my statement now, before they begin asking me their own questions._'

"Attention please, everyone." He Began. Under the harsh volume of his mechanical voice, almost every other sound soon died out. "Before we begin with this debriefing, or conference if you will, I would like to make statement; I will not lie or make false truths to you here, but you should know that what I will say next, no matter how it may sound or how it is received, are the words of myself as an individual. I am not an official spokesman of the Capsule Corporation and my views and words do not coincide with those held by Bulma Briefs, any other members of the Briefs family or the Capsule Corporation itself. You may now ask your questions."

Looks of sudden surprise were on almost any face in the crowd. After a second, some of those faces turned to surprise or shock; they had understood what that message had meant.

They were not going to like some of the things that the Commander was about to say…

* * *

A/N:

Congrats to Tejini, he was the one to say where the quote came from. I first heard it from Dinobot in Beast Wars, but the original is actually from Shakespeare.

Anyway, we're nearing the end of this story arc, only 1 or 2 more chapters to go and then we can move on to the next arc.

I want to thank my Beta, Zephyr-Tai-Ji for his excellent work again.

Please leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapppy.

and apologies, i acidentily uploaded the 15th chapter for Naruto Arashiodori into this story, i fixed it as soon as i found out. thnx to Cuball and Caliko for pointing it out, sorry for the trouble guys.

edit: i don't know why, but for some reason FFN is removing my scene-changes. i'll try to figure out a way to still be able to change the scenes and when i do i'll replace the chapter. untill then, bear with me. suggestions are also welcome.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, or anything from that universe. Never have, never will.

* * *

"Attention please, everyone." the Commander said, "Before we begin with this debriefing, or conference if you will, I would like to make statement; I will not lie or make false truths to you here, but you should know that what I will say next, no matter how it may sound or how it is received, are the words of myself as an individual. I am not an official spokesman of the Capsule Corporation and my views and words may not coincide with those held by Bulma Briefs, any other members of the Briefs family or the Capsule Corporation itself. You may now ask your questions."

"Sir! Can you tell us what exactly happened here?" one of the reports asked almost immediately. The other reporters, also wanting an answer to that question, were silent to allow the Commander to answer.

"Some former employees of mine had apparently decided to return to their old profession of mercenary and took a job that required them to hold this school hostage. I was alerted by an employee of the Capsule Corporation that this situation had occurred and I decided to interfere and put an end to this situation myself, before any lasting damage would be done. To that end I had gathered several of my subordinates and prepared to deal with this situation. It took me quite some time to prepare myself and my men, so by the time we arrived this situation was already underway for a few hours."

"And what can you say about the men who were a part of this kidnapping?"

"What sort of organization do you belong to?"

"Is it true that you work for the Capsule Corporation?"

"What do you think of this entire situation now that is has come to pass?"

"Some of the students have told us that your organization is secret, why have you moved out into the open?"

"Can you tell us –"

The Commander raised his hand to silence the reports. '_There's a very good reason that I didn't become the spokesmen for the Capsule Corporation._' He thought. '_I hate reporters._'

"The men who had been participating in this kidnapping were all mercenaries. Most of them I did not know, however their leader and some of his direct subordinates were members of our organization and for that reason it was decided that I should interfere." He answered the first question. He quickly continued on to answer some of the other questions, hoping it would satisfy them.

"Yes my group and I belong to the Capsule Corporation; we are a specialized organization dedicated to keeping the peace of Capsule Corporation from those who would disturb it with force. Our existence was kept secret from the main public for the purpose of surprising our un-expecting enemies and to prevent confusion and certain… expectations from the main public. We are, however, not an illegal organization. All the governments in the world know of our existence and they have all indicated their approval."

As the crowd suddenly started discussing what his words meant, how they could use the CCDD for other purposes now, the Commander allowed them a second before continuing.

'_Amazing what a few bags of money to politicians can do…_'

"As for my thought on this situation; it has become unnecessary long and inactive. This situation could be brought to an end less then an hour after it had started."

The moment he stopped, the reporters were on him again.

"How so sir?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have been informed that the police was notified mere moments after the school had been taken over." The Commander replied, "However, they failed to take any action in this crucial time. If they had arrived in force, entered the school and used the confusion that still reigned at the time this entire situation could have been solved within an hour."

"But if we did that, it would mean endangering the entire student population and teachers!" a policemen suddenly shouted from behind the reporters.

"No it would not have. While the confusion still ruled the infiltration would not have been noted until it was too late. The only reason you failed to act was because of sheer cowardice, hidden under the guise of 'carefulness.'" The Commander retorted.

Complete silence followed that statement. No one spoke up for a few seconds, shocked at the sheer rudeness of what the Commander had just said.

And, just like how the silence had fallen instantly, everyone started shouting at him in protest.

"What do you mean?" "It's only because of how things went that our children are still safe!" "How can you say such things about the police?" "They did everything they could!"

And many other such cries were heard suddenly.

Underneath his helmet, the Commander felt a pang of annoyance before he spoke up again. The moment that a sound was emitted from his helmet, everyone quieted down again.

"No, the police could have done a lot more, but they failed to act out of fear. Just as they do whenever there is trouble in this city. If they had acted immediately then these students could have escaped with nothing but a moment's shock. Now instead they have had a full day of terror and fear to life with."

Again there were murmurs, most of them still disapproving, but he was sure that some of them thought he was right as well.

"Today I have seen only one act of bravery from the Satan City police, but it was overshadowed with many cowardly deeds. And this one brave act was also a foolish one, that was paid for with a life."

He pointed towards the scene around the body of the young policeman that had tried to stop the Captain and his men on their escape.

"That officer was the only one who did not cower in the face of trouble; he was the only one who tried to do what he had too. And it is a shame that the slight amount of actual bravery has now been removed from this group of spineless cowards. Cowards, who would hide behind the back of a naïve teenager girl and a moron in a costume, because otherwise, they would actually have to do something."

There was, once again, silence after his words. Some people had their mouths opened wide in disbelieve that the Commander had just insulted two of the three heroes of Satan City as well as insult the police force. Some people looked shocked, others furious. Then, the entire crowd burst out into a shouting chaos once again.

"How dare you insult them? They have been keeping us safe all this time!"  
"He may be right about the police, but he has no right to insult Saiyaman and Videl!"

"The dude has a point, the cops don't do shit in this town anymore!"

"We are the upholders of the law, how dare you say we do nothing?"

Even some of the reporters were shouting incoherent stuff; the Commander took that as his cue to leave.

"I see that you have no further questions, I will take my leave now." before anyone could react he turned around and disappeared into one of the alleys.

XxX

'_I don't believe that guy…_' Videl, even as she was being held by her father's side, was fuming with anger. '_Isn't there some sort of limit on how big an asshole you can be when you're behind a mask or something? What's his problem?_'

Insulting the police force was one thing, they hardly did do any work these days, and the insult towards Saiyaman she completely supported; he was a moron in a suit. An incredibly strong, fast and nice moron, but a moron nonetheless.

It was the insult towards her that had her so angry. He had already insulted her back at the church, when the rain was soaking her, and that was already bad enough as it was. Now he had to insult her in front of cameras for an event that the whole world was probably watching.

'_And he walks away as soon as he can. He must really try to go for the badass look or something._'

"Hey, Pumpkin, are you alright?" her father asked as he checked up on her. "You don't seem too good."

"What do you think Dad?" she bit back at him in a hiss. Despite her caution she still noticed some of the reporters suddenly looking in their direction. Shouting at him now would do more harm then good, so Videl decided for an alternative. Shooting him a glare that clearly said 'I'll talk to you when we're back home' she answered with a "Fine, of course."

The commotion created by the Commander's depart slowly settling down, people started turning to Videl again. They were still hungry for the story.

XxX

Gohan stepped out of the van a few minutes after the Commander had gotten in. the moment he had stepped out, the engine soared to life and the van drove away.

"Well, glad that's over with." He said dryly as he started to walk away.

A few steps before the turn of an alleyway, Gohan suddenly thought of something.

'_If I walk out of the same alley that the Commander disappeared into, it'll be suspicious… better try to get out of here without anyone seeing me. Let's see if my powers have returned a bit by now._'

Taking a quick test with a fast run down the alley, Gohan was satisfied that his speed, at least for a moment, would be able to evade the human eye. Taking care to also evade camera's, which could slow down enough to identify him, Gohan jumped to the top of a building, dashed over it and quietly landed on the other side.

'_The cameras will all be focused on the alley that the Commander disappeared into; they won't watch the other alleys as much. At least, I hope so._'

Running out at top speed, Gohan quickly left the alley and managed to fit himself right in with the crowd of people still standing in front of the school. It had only taken him a few moments to locate Videl and her father.

"I have told you all that you need to know, now would you all please leave me alone? I've had a long day."

As Videl walked away from the reporters, her father staying behind to distract them, she noticed Gohan looking at her. As inconspicuous as they could, the two walked towards each other. By the time they had met, Sharpener and Erasa had appeared out of nowhere as well.

"Where have you been all this time?" Videl asked the moment they met. The two blondes were quiet, they also wanted to know.

"The Commander had me stay inside one of the van's that the CCDD used to get here. I had to stay in there until the mission was over, but I could see everything that the Commander could see, through a camera installed in his helmet. So I pretty much know everything that happened…"

"I see… so you know what an absolute asshole he is? What he did against a defenseless opponent?"

"Yeah, I know what he did… and I can't apologize for it enough…" Gohan looked ashamed at the ground, nervously rubbing his shoulder as he evaded Videl's glare.

"I just… I didn't expect things to turn this bad. I hoped it would all be solved without violence. I'm sorry."

He looked so sad at that moment that even Videl didn't have it in her to shout at him.

"Hey Nerd-boy," Sharpener said as the silence fell. His voice wasn't as teasing as it normally would be when speaking to Gohan, but it didn't surprise Videl; they had all had a rough night. "Are you ok?"

Gohan looked up, a bit surprised at Sharpener's question. If Videl didn't know any better she would have almost thought he looked insulted. But Gohan didn't even know what being insulted meant…

Sharpener apparently was just as surprised by Gohan's look because his voice was a bit strange when he spoke up again.

"It's just that you sneaked out on your own and you weren't feeling too good before. And you weren't looking too hot either; I was worried for a while that something had happened."

Gohan didn't say anything, but his look softened a lot right afterwards. The group, as if by some unspoken command, turned around and each of them walked in another direction.

XxX

As Gohan was moving away from the crowd and looking for a way to escape he couldn't help but feel a strange feeling rise inside of him.

'_Sharpener sounded worried about me and I felt insulted. Why? He meant what he said; he's being a good friend so why was I upset when he asked me? They don't know about what I can and can't take, but for some reason I was really annoyed when he asked me._' His feet worked on their own through the crowd as he kept thinking about what had happened. Having finally reached a secluded area where he knew no one would see him; he transformed and took of to the Capsule Corporation.

"Vegeta must be rubbing of on me."

XxX

Erasa managed to sneak her way past the crowd and slowly made her way to her parents. They were waiting near their car, after Erasa told them she wanted to go home as quickly as she could. She, too, had noticed the strange, almost angry look on Gohan's face.

'_Well, I only know the guy for two months, plenty of things I don't know about him._' She thought as she walked towards the two adults she loved the most in her life. '_And the way he acted today only makes him more impressive. I wonder why he tries to hide from danger though, he handled everything pretty well, even if the results weren't exactly a perfect fairy tail ending._'

"Honey, are you sure you're all right?" her father asked as she stepped into the car.

"I'm fine dad," she answered, looking at the worried look on his face. "Just a little tired."

XxX

Sharpener, like Gohan, tried to disappear from the crowd as quickly as he could. His father wasn't around, Sharpener knew that much. His work kept him far too busy, not that Sharpener really cared. He just wanted to go to his apartment and get some rest as quickly as he could.

'_I just know the coach will get on my case about this. "I don't care if you got on TV for being killed or not, you'd sure as hell better get your ass over here in the morning and continue your training! You don't become champ without training!" is what he'd probably say. And he'll be pissed enough that I missed my evening run so close to my next match._'

"Grumpy, annoying old bastard." Sharpener muttered as he got into his own car and left for his house.

XxX

Videl walked in the opposite direction of her father, knowing the cameras wouldn't notice her missing until she was long gone. Her father would keep the attention on himself while she got away.

'_Thanks dad, I don't want the news crew to see where I'm going next._' She thought to herself as she maneuvered through the people. '_I want to find out some more about this whole CCDD thing. And where better to start then with another illegal organization, even if this one is completely criminal._'

"Time to pay a visit to Styring Behersk." She said with an exhausted sigh as she finally escaped the people. "Looks like my night is far from over."

XxX

"So, Bulma. You have any idea what was wrong with my power? It looks like it wasn't so bad on the way over here as it was this morning, but it still took me about twenty minutes as a Super Saiyan. Normally it takes me two minutes without transforming."

Bulma didn't answer him as she continued to do some tests on a blood sample she had taken from him using a near-indestructible and extremely sharp needle while Gohan had to completely relax his muscles. Compared to normal, the process was extremely easy; the needle had moved in without problems, drained some of his blood and allowed Bulma to do her tests. After that the urine and spit samples came along, both without any sort of problems, and Bulma started testing them. She had been busy with doing her tests for the past hour.

"Are you done yet woman? Do you have any idea how late it is?"

"Yes I do husband-dear. I'm almost done. Have a seat while I explain." The blue-haired scientist turned around and pointed at the chair next to Gohan.

"That means you know what was wrong with me?" Gohan asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it was just what I had expected it to be." She answered with an unreadable look on her face. She looked at Gohan seriously for a second before finally telling him what was wrong.

"You were poisoned."

* * *

A/N: with this the Commander is gone from the story (at least for now) and Gohan finally makes his long-awaited return. Now Gohan will finally learn of the reason of his weakness. And Videl meets with an old enemy. Thanks to Zephyr-Tai-Ji for betaing this chapter for me.

Congratulations to everyone who knows what language Styring Behersk comes from and what it means.

also, thanks for all the suggestions about the scene change. as you can see, i've decided to use Vorago's advice with the x-es.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: still own nothing… never have, never will.

* * *

"You were poisoned."

As Bulma made her statement, neither Saiyan replied. Gohan looked shocked and Vegeta instantly straightened up on the couch he was sitting on. Both warriors spoke at the same time--surprise and shock present in both voices.

"What do you mean I was poisoned?!"

"Explain yourself, woman."

They had both stood up while yelling and, as a result, the couch Vegeta had been sitting on had been shot through four walls, while Gohan's chair was simply destroyed.

'Men…' Bulma thought with amusement. "Calm down and I'll explain. But this will be a bit surprising and I don't think you want everyone to know this," she warned.

Vegeta leaned back against a wall, a sign Bulma knew meant he was completely alert while trying to appear uninterested, while Gohan simply stood focused with eager eyes.

"I can tell you exactly what poison it was and I have a pretty good idea of who gave it to you as well. Care to make any guesses, Gohan?"

Gohan shifted his weight around as he tried to think of various things. After a few seconds, he spoke up.

"I can't really think of anything Bulma. What're you talking about?"

"Come on Kid," the green-haired genius teased, "Use that big brain of yours and do what you do best. Analyze everything you did lately that was strange from your normal behavior and could cause this sort of trouble. Take your time. You might also want to brainstorm about this, Vegeta. It's also very interesting for you to know."

XxX

'_Let me think. __The t__hings that I did lately that __were__ very different from normal__..__._' Gohan quickly lost himself in his thoughts as he tried to relive the last few weeks of his life.

'_I've been getting less sleep th__a__n normal lately because of school and Saiyaman activities, but nothing that could count as poison or should be this severe. That is highly unlikely to be the cause of this. Poisons are usually taken in through the mouth or injected directly into the blood. It must have been something that I ate or drank because no normal needle can penetrate my skin. And even if it __did,__ I would have known __about it__…_

_Mom did change the cooking a bit __by__ adding some new spices, but since neither her__,__ nor Goten had any problems__,__ that c__ouldn't__be__ the poison __either__. What else did I take that my body is unfamiliar with? Come on Gohan, think!_'

Suddenly a blurry memory appeared from his memory. He was wearing an expensive suit; someone gave him and the girl next to him a drink. From that point on everything turned blurry …

"OF COURSE!" he yelled as his head snapped back up from the blur, with realization dawning on him.

"At Videl's party Saturday." Now that he had thought of it, everything seemed so logical. 'How could I have missed it?'

"Sharpener gave me glass of punch that Had alcohol in it. After that my body became so weak I actually passed out right there and afterwards I couldn't move at full speed… That's it!" All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place inside his head now. "The alcohol in the drink must have affected me in some way to reduce my powers… But if it did that…"

Just as all answers seemed so obvious, another big question suddenly popped into his mind.

"Wait a second." He began, glancing at his boss, "How is it possible that the alcohol affected my muscular power so much? When taken in significant doses, alcohol has an effect on the nervous system. It's how the disorientation and unstable walking pattern appear; the nerves control has weakened so to say. The motor control should be reduced but the power and speed of movements should for the most part be safeguarded."

"Yes exactly," Bulma confirmed, "go on."

"But in my case, I still had perfect motor control. I was disoriented for only a short time after consuming the alcohol, but it also held a more long term effects on my muscle's power and contraction speed_._ And because it affected my muscles, the source of our Energy, my Energy was also severely weakened.

But how is that possible? The human body filters the alcohol out through a system that doesn't interact with the system that 'feeds' the muscles, in a matter of speaking. I don't understand what's going on anymore. Then the alcohol must not be the poison you meant. It shouldn't affect my muscles after all. But what else did I take that could be poisonous?"

"Slow down kid." Bulma interfered. "You hit it dead on with that one. The alcohol was absorbed into your blood very strongly and therefore affected your muscles and your energy. But you were right in your theory just now. Alcohol doesn't seriously affect the muscular power of _human_ bodies." Gohan didn't miss the extra emphasis that was added on the word 'human.' "But there's one small problem with your reason for disregarding alcohol as the poison, and this isn't going to sound nice but it's the truth. Your theory is based on the human body and the effects of alcohol on it. But you're not human."

Gohan looked shocked at Bulma for a second before realizing what she just said.

"Wha?"

"Of course he's not human." Vegeta instantly said, "as much as he fails to show it, the brat is a Saiyan. But what does that have to do with the alcohol affecting him so much?"

"Well, if you would calm down for a second, I'd explain to you how it is that you Saiyans can't take alcohol, or any other internally attacking substances. Because I sure remember what happened to you after you had a single glass of wine, husband-dear…" Bulma said with pride in her voice.

"What? Don't you dare…" Gohan could have sworn that he actually saw Vegeta blush at the mention. But he had more pressing matters than the most embarrassing moments of Vegeta's life.

"What do you mean Saiyans can't take internal attacks?" he asked in surprise "Humans are, for the most part, resilient against low-damage toxins such as alcohol. I know that, taken in sufficient quantity, everything is a poison of sorts, but why would this affect us so much stronger then humans?"

"You're basing things only on the outside or something kid?" this time Bulma sounded surprised, maybe even a little disappointed at Gohan's statement. "Saiyans and Humans look very similar in outward appearance, especially when Saiyans lose the tail, but their insides are completely different from humans you know. The Saiyan anatomy, physiology and tissue-structure are very different from humans."

"Oh really? I never would have thought so." Vegeta sarcastically remarked at her explanation.

"Oh please, you Saiyans aren't as completely superior to humans as you always think Vegeta. You might be the superior combatants, but against internal attacks we, humans, win against you. To quote Charles Darwin; 'It's not the strongest that survive nor the most intelligent but the ones most receptive to change.' You, Saiyans, are very strong, but we humans are much more adaptive to our surroundings."

"Ok, ok. Back onto the subject before you two have a shouting match about the superior race" Gohan quickly intervened when he saw Vegeta getting ready to retort.

"How is it exactly that humans are more resilient then Saiyans? I'm guessing it has something to do with the metabolism or something?"

"Now you're getting somewhere kid. You're close; it does have to do with metabolism." Bulma quickly agreed, focusing her attention on Gohan again.

"Saiyan and Human metabolism is different, it starts at the stomach and how the energies from food are distributed all over the body. Now with humans, as you can read in any biology of physiology book, the food is slowly broken down by the acids in their stomach and then send into the other internal organs where the nutrition is absorbed into the blood after it's filtered. Because of that toxins get weakened severely before they enter the bloodstream through food. You follow so far?"

Both men quickly nodded, allowing her to continue.

"Well, Saiyan stomach acids are much more aggressive. They break food down much faster then human acids and the nutrition that's released gets sent though a series of interlined blood vessels or something I'm not sure, but the nutrition gets sent directly into the blood. As a result much more energy is sent to the muscles. It's also what allows you Saiyans to eat so much. Your food is simply digested much faster, so it takes a lot more to fill up your stomach. But, because the food doesn't get filtered first, the toxins and poisons that are taken in through the mouth are also injected directly into the muscles, therefore taking much more effect faster then it would do to any human.

It's also why alcohol, which usually takes its effect from the liver and from there on attacks the nervous system, doesn't affect your nerves at all; it never got there at all. I'm not sure how all of your other internal organs work yet, but I'm pretty certain that's how your stomach works and that's why your power dropped so much."

XxX

"Good evening Miss Satan, how may I help you?" the good-looking, friendly-faced maid asked Videl through the intercom.

"I'd like to speak with your boss. I know he's not at his office, so I thought I'd come and pay a visit to his house. I'm sure he won't mind the company."

"I'm terribly sorry dear, but Mr. Behersk doesn't like to have visitors at this time of night. I could take a message for him if you like?"

"I don't care what Behersk likes and doesn't like, but I need to see him right now. Last time I've met him, he said it wouldn't be a problem if I wanted to meet with him. Now could you at least go ask him to let me in?"

"Yes I'll go see if he's still awake, would you mind holding on for a minute?" before Videl even answered, the maid disabled the connection, leaving Videl standing next to the gates of the massive mansion.

'_I must be losing my mind._' She thought as she looked through the bars, thinking about what she was doing. '_Videl Satan, __the __respected crime fighter extraordinaire, daughter of Hercule and most likely the greatest female martial artist in existence, waiting at the door of a crime lord's house because I want some information from him._'

She looked through the street while she waited, but quickly averted her gaze when she saw a motorcycle approaching. For some reason, it made her think of that young policeman that got shot and flew over a motorbike.

'_I'm really starting to lose it._' Videl scolded herself as she realized that she was starting to see phantoms in every motorcycle.

"Miss Satan? Mr. Behersk will see you if you still wish to talk to him. We've sent a guard to unlock the gate and drive you to the front door. He'll be there in a few minutes, so please wait a little longer."

"Ok, thanks." Videl replied, before being spooked by the sudden sound of a large clock, signaling it was already eleven o'clock.

For some reason she could have sworn that she suddenly saw a small, masked man kneeling on the ground before his head exploded…

XxX

"Well, well, well. I must admit, Miss Satan, I never expected you to actually take me up on my offer to chat sometime."

Videl was seated in a comfortable chair in a lounge with one of the persons she disliked- no _despised_- the most out of Satan City, and maybe even the world.

Styring Behersk was a tall man who, despite living in Japan, was born and raised in Norway. He had loose black hair, with grey starting to sprout out of his head, a sharp chin and a body that suggested that he once did a lot of training, but has since come to grow into the life of comfort. This man in front of her, wasted though he may look, was one of the richest and most influential men on the planet. But unlike Bulma Briefs and her father, who had earned their money with a breakthrough of scientific wonders, this man had made his money by operating on both sides of the law in ways that ensured it couldn't be traced back to him without hard evidence. Everyone knew he was a crime lord and a mob boss, but no one could prove it. Unless they could, it was unwise for anyone to mess with him.

He was currently dressed in a suit, as if he was doing his official job as company president, with his hair smoothed down perfectly. The effect wasn't lost on Videl.

He saw this as another business event and would treat it as such.

'_No problem, I only need to hear a few things from him._' She thought as she devised a plan of action.

"Now I assume you're not here for small talk. You've never shown any interest in conversing with me before and I doubt you will show it now," he pointed out bluntly. "Would you care for a drink before we start? I always enjoy a good glass of whiskey when I'm having a pleasant conversation."

"I'll take a cup of tea thanks." Videl requested. She couldn't take the risk of using alcohol and losing control of the conversation.

"Of course." He confirmed as he poured himself some whiskey and poured a cup of tea for Videl. Placing them on the table between them, he started the conversation.

"Now, Miss Satan, based on the events of today, I'm assuming you're here to request what I know of the organization know as the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department, commonly referred to as the CCDD? Am I right?"

"Yes you are." Videl admitted. "I was hoping that someone with your… resources…" she worded with care, "could perhaps inform me about them a bit more than I know now."

"My resources… Come now Miss Satan, there's no reason to dance around the subject. You think I'm a stealing no-good gangster and I know you think that. I also know that you have no means whatsoever of recording this conversation, since I had my guards confiscate your communicator-watch, and that it'll never leave these four walls. So let's not play with words and try to be honest, shall we?"

"Very well." Videl's annoyance at the man, especially after all the events of the past day, was reaching new highs and it caused her to reach a new level of rudeness.

"I was wondering if you, with all your criminal connections, spies and knowledge, had any information about the CCDD for me."

"That's more like you, direct and to the point. But where on earth did you get the idea that I might know the CCDD?" he laughed as he took a sip of his drink.

'_Don't look at me like that,_' Videl thought '_don't you dare laugh at me._'

"I thought that you, with your organization, would have at least run into them once, or at least tried to find some intel on them." She didn't hesitate to show her hatred in her voice.

"Haha, my, my, Ms Satan, you certainly don't mince your words do you? Quite different from your father." Just like Videl's obvious dislike, Styring's amusement was obvious and it only annoyed Videl further.

"Like you, your father dislikes me, however he knows that I am a powerful man in many ways and that it would be unwise to make an enemy out of me. Not an ally by any means, but we are far from enemies. You should learn from his example."

"Quit changing the subject and just tell me what I want to know!" Videl practically yelled in his face. It took a lot of her willpower to not stand up while she was yelling.

"Very well then, but please calm yourself. I am being nothing but polite, and I would request you do the same. I could be… offended… otherwise and feel the need to remove yourself from my house for self-protection."

Instead of replying, Videl simply took a sip from her tea. Almost as soon as she took the sip, she felt herself calm down.

"That's better." Styring said as he leaned back in his chair. "Herbal tea always works rather well to calm down after a long and tense day. Now, about your question; yes I do know the CCDD, I have even met in person with the Commander, just like you have. And I can assure you, Miss Satan, that I was quite surprised that he would show up to deal with something like this. It didn't seem to fit his style at all, such a public appearance."

"How did you meet him?" Videl's curiosity got the better of her, wishing to learn as much as she could about the enigma known as the Commander.

"Like many others, I know that the Capsule Corporation is a very valuable company and they have many, many plans that help out society. And most of these plans also allow very significant money-making, which is why many companies are out to get their plans. The same was true for me. If I had the plans that the Capsule Corporation has, depending on what the plans are for, I could gain money in the millions, maybe even billions because of it. Even the plans that they throw away are often capable of producing a profit of several millions." He poured himself another whiskey as he spoke.

Videl didn't miss the obvious look of greed on his face when he spoke of the money that the Capsule Corporation's plans could make.

"It was for that reason that I managed to employ several Capsule Corporation employees to help me with the plans. I had been careful to cover my tracks, acting through numerous different agents to make it near impossible for my assistants to be tracked back to me. I was certain that, even if they would be caught, the police would never be able to track it back to me."

The careless explanation, along with the look of pride and satisfaction on his face, almost made Videl rise up and leave the room right then and there.

'_How can he look so satisfied talking, even bragging, about his criminal activities? He knows what he does is wrong, but he actually enjoys it? He is proud of being a criminal?'_

As her thoughts raced, Videl suddenly remembered the words a cold mechanical voice told her.

"_Tell me Miss Satan, how stupid and naive are you? You think the world will abide by your standards? That everyone will be nice and keep to the rules? Wake up! This world we live in is harsh and cruel; it punishes the smallest of mistakes and rewards only the greatest of achievements."_

'_Is this what he meant__…? No__, no I can't believe I'm actually considering what he said. The Commander is wrong, he must be… I'm not naïve…_'

"As it was, however, there was one factor I had not counted on." Styring continued. "It was during the time when I had those two preparing to send me information that the CCDD somehow discovered that they were working as spies. They were fired and trialed for espionage. I didn't care, I thought I was safe. I didn't even know about the existence of the CCDD, until the day that the Commander came to visit me in person…"

"What happened then?"

"He just walked into my office one day, my assistant was trying to stop him and his two very large companions from entering my office, but he was, naturally, frightened by their posture and weaponry. One of the two soldiers forced him out the door and threatened him to not come in again.

Almost as soon as the door was closed, the Commander introduced himself and told me he was from the CCDD and was here to warn me. He had tracked the spies back to me, a feature I had thought impossible, but because he didn't have any evidence to take me to trial with. So he gave me a warning; if I ever tried to steal the Capsule Corporation's plans again, or he somehow discovered that I was trying to find out more information about the Capsule Corporation than I should, he'd be back and there would be an 'accident' with me."

Despite everything he had explained, Styring smiled when he finished. A strange, very creepy smile, one that Videl didn't want to think about, but smiling nonetheless.

"He threatened to kill you?" she asked in surprise.

"He did. I would have, normally, not reacted very strongly to it. I get death threats all the time. However, there was something different about him, something that actually made me feel worried. Not only had he managed to follow the nearly impossible trail back to me, something I'm still amazed that he managed to do but he had managed to enter my office with heavy weaponry on without alerting any security alarm whatsoever. And if he could enter my office once, he could do it again.

But the worst of it all was, if he would return to kill me, he would make it seem like it was an execution from the criminal area. Like me, he knows how to prevent the trail from being followed back to him."

This time Styring spoke with respect but, at the same time, Videl sensed a dark tone in his voice. He poured himself yet another drink as Videl finished up her tea.

'_Not surprising. He doesn't like the Commander._'

"He left afterwards. The entire meeting hadn't even taken ten minutes and he had already disappeared by the time my assistant came back with some help. It was not until some time later that I learned just how powerful of an opponent the Commander was. Powerful in ways that very few people can be. I will show you."

He drained his third glass of whiskey, stood up and walked to his computer. A few minutes later, the television sprang to life and Videl was watching the hallway of, presumably, Styring's company.

"This is the front door of my company. I have the entire place scanned constantly by cameras, heat scanners, metal detectors and many other devices. This is the time and date of the Commander entering with his two subordinates. Look closely at the door…"

As she watched, Videl saw the door slide open and, after a few seconds, close without anyone entering or exiting.

"That's when they entered." Styring pointed out.

"But that's not right…" Videl was getting confused. "No one entered through the door."

"Oh they did, but for some reason they're not shown on the cameras. Or any other equipment I use at any rate. Now let me show you the camera in my office, this time with audio. You'll be surprised with what you see and hear."

He bent down behind the screen again and a few seconds later, she was watching into a very ornate office with expensive paintings on the wall, a surprised looking Styring Behersk and, oddly enough, a young man was struggling… against the air?

"What's going on here?"

"This is when my assistant, the young man, gets forced out by the subordinates. But this is nothing yet. Wait and see."

"**What is the meaning of this?"** the Styring in the video said. No one else could be seen in the room, nor was an answer given.

"**What do you mean, 'you're here to warn me.'**** Leave my office right now before I alert the police!"**

Again nothing but silence, but the color was rapidly draining from the face of the businessman in the video.

"**I had nothing to do with that, why don't you prove what you claim?"**

No answer.

"**I will not be spoken to in such a way. Now leave before I have you removed by force!"**

Finally a reaction of sorts occurred. The wall behind Styring suddenly burst into pieces, as if it exploded. The image suddenly froze; Styring had frozen the image.

"As you can see Miss Satan," Styring spoke up, "The CCDD has the ability to make it impossible to record anything from them if they so please. This is what truly scared me about them."

"I can imagine…" she really could. The Commander was scary enough on his own, but she didn't want to think about what would happen if he had the ability to come to her room or classroom anytime he pleased and simply did whatever he wanted…

"But what else can you tell me about them? I want to know as much as I can." She insisted.

"I'm afraid this is as good as my information gets." Styring said with flair as he drained his glass yet again. "You can imagine that, after this, I was rather… cautious… about where I would search for information. I have not gotten any further than that the CCDD answers only to the president directly, in this case, Bulma Briefs, and has the authority within the company to investigate any employee they wish, even the board of directors and the president. When dealing with high-ranked people, they need the authorization of the president to take action, but aside from that, I only know insignificant things.

They get, among other things, a royal paycheck, are selected on loyalty to their employer and are required to build several different skills. And all of them obey their leader without question. Although it seems, as proven by the actions of today, even they have some rebels."

Videl was too busy analyzing everything that she could think of around the CCDD to really listen to the man's voice. She stood up, turned around and walked towards the door. A few steps short of it, she stopped, turned around and did something she never thought she would do, before turning around and leaving the compound.

She had thanked a crime lord for his help and time.

* * *

A/N:

The explanation for Gohan weakness is finally given, congrats to TimeShifter he was the one to guess the cause correctly. I hope you all thought the explanation was logical and understandable enough, because I assure you that the different Saiyan body and physiology will have more of a role then only weakening Gohan in the previous arc. And the same is also true for Styring Behersk. Btw, the guess as to the meaning of his name is still open.

I know Gohan had a small part in this chapter compared to Videl, but starting next chapter he will be having bigger appearances again.

Thanks to both Zephyr-tai-ji and Mirrorsofillusions for beta-ing this for me. As always, please review to tell mewhat you think.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: still own NOTHING. If I did, Gohan would have definitely been made the main character in DBZ instead of switching with Goku.

* * *

When Gohan got home, roughly an hour after Bulma had finished her explanation thanks to a Jetcopter he had borrowed, his mother had been waiting for him. She had seen the news on the TV about what happened at the school, just after she had tucked Goten in for bed.

Upset as she was with the events, Chi-chi was more furious that Gohan had done nothing to stop it. She was almost screaming why he hadn't jumped out in that weird outfit of his and pulled some of his super-hero stuff. It was only after she had finished her ranting that Gohan could find a way to explain everything that was wrong with him.

Once he was done explaining everything, Chi-chi looked thoroughly confused, partly because Gohan had explained in scientific terms, but firmly warned her son to never go near alcohol again, or try anything else that was bad. And on more than one occasion did she slip an 'I told you so' in about what she had always said about bad things like alcohol. After everything that had happened, he didn't dare contradict her, not that he had any reasons too.

By the time Gohan had finally managed to go to sleep it was nearing four in the morning. The following day, Goten tried to wake his brother up with his traditional belly-stomping but was instead launched through the door by a very grumpy Gohan. Chi-chi received a phone call from Orange Star High to inform the family that the students had the rest of the school week off; the police were going to do a thorough investigation of the kidnapping and it was thought that the students would need some time to recover from the shock.

Almost as soon as Bulma heard the news, she pretty much ordered Gohan to get over to the Capsule Corporation. She claimed that there were multiple purposes to persuade Chi-chi to leave her weakened son out of her protective motherly gaze. First off all, Gohan could catch up on the work he had missed lately because of school. Besides that, Gohan could do some training in one of the gravitons to get the alcohol out of his system a bit faster and Bulma could do some additional research and find a possible way to prevent Saiyans to suffer so much from alcohol, maybe even effective for humans as well.

That was how Gohan found himself in Graviton #4 in the Capsule Corporation the afternoon after the kidnapping event. For the first time in three years he was training and, while shadowing, discovered that his old fighting style didn't suit him anymore; his limbs had grown much longer and his body was much taller now. So instead of trying to regain his old moves, Gohan instead started focusing on building a new style of fighting. He regained the fundamentals that Piccolo, Krillin, and his father had taught him, but he had to create new combination attacks and get used to the 'new' length of his limbs, and the time they needed to fully extend.

From the outside of the room, Gohan was being watched by his mother, godmother and the remaining Saiyans in existence. Vegeta was looking with interest at what Gohan was doing, while the three children were watching in fascination; It was their first time seeing Gohan in action.

XxX

"Hey dad?" Trunks asked without removing his eyes from his best friend's brother, "What's Gohan doing? His moves all look really weird and sometimes it seems like he's really forcing everything." He remarked.

"He's changing the fighting style he's always used." Vegeta simply stated. Bulma and Chi-chi gave him a strange look, while Bra was the one to actually ask the question.

"Why? Why would Uncle Gohan suddenly change his fighting style? What's wrong with it daddy?"

"Because Gohan has literally outgrown his previous style." Vegeta explained. "In the past, his main style was to get so close to an enemy that it would be difficult for them to attack effectively, using his small size to his advantage. But in the past couple of years, he has grown such a significant amount so that strategy is no longer useable. His arms and legs are too long to stand right next to an enemy and still remain their maximum ability."

"Really? So now what's he going to do daddy?" Bra asked as she watched in even more amazement.

"He'll be busy for a while with creating and changing his tactics, but in a few days he should be ready to try it out in a higher gravity level, maybe even in a spar." Vegeta eyed his son for a second, silently adding some thoughts.

'Perhaps Trunks could spar with the brat. It would be a good experience for both of them; Trunks could fight an enemy with vastly superior experience, speed, skill and strength other than me and the brat could learn how annoying it is to fight against a miniature opponent.'

"Hey dad…" Trunks asked again as he looked away from the oldest half-saiyan's training for the first time. "I think Gohan really needs to work on this new style. I'm seeing openings all over it."

"Really?" Goten also managed to draw his eyes away from his brother and looked at his best friend. "So I'm not the only one who's seeing them? Wow, good thing too. I was beginning to think I was seeing things." His voice, like always, was filled with energy and enthusiasm.

"You mean those openings that everyone can see?" Vegeta asked the two boys, seeing what Gohan was doing. 'Not bad. Certainly an idea that could work very well, if mastered enough to use in an actual fight.'

Both boys nodded, looking at the only living pure-blood saiyan in existence.

"Like how he has an opening on his left side, just above his hip?" the prince asked, knowing the answer already. Again both boys nodded with vigor.

"If you were to attack there, he would surely lure you in for a killing strike." Vegeta suddenly said, causing 5 pair of eyes to look at him in confusion. "That opening is a trap; he is actually able to defend it with a very small change of his right arm's position and turn the tables quickly. The real opening is that, in that position, he'll have difficulty defending against high attacks on his right. He is slowly starting to incorporate traps like that in each of his stances and attacks."

"Woooooooooow. He can actually do that?" the two boys chorused in amazement before looking back. No matter how they looked, neither could see the real openings in the stances and attacks.

'Of course they wouldn't, neither of them have experience with trying to see through an attack. But if he does manage to completely combine maneuvering like that in his fight style, he'll have a handy advantage in fights; an experienced fighter will seek out and strike the first opening they see on near instinct. It's very difficult to effectively look for any real openings while in the actual fight, making it very difficult to counter.' The prince thought as he watched.

'Looks like I need to start working on not striking all the openings I see.'

XxX

"Honey, are you sure you're alright?" Hercule asked his daughter again. He had already lost count on how many times he had asked that question the past two days. He already knew what the answer would be, it was always the same.

"Yes dad, I'm fine. Why do you keep asking me?" Videl answered in annoyance as she kicked the sandbag again.

"Because I'm your father, I'm worried about you and you've been doing nothing but kicking that sandbag for the past two hours. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is wrong dad! How many times do I have to tell you?" her annoyance became obvious when she kicked the bag again, much harder then before this time, causing it to fly sideways and into the ceiling.

"Videl, you have been doing nothing but extensive training for two days; you start training before anyone else in the gym is here and you stay until long after everyone is done. You need to give your body some rest as well."

"I'm giving my body plenty of rest, dad; I just need to pick up on my training again. There's some frustration in my system that I want to get out, that's all." She explained as she stopped her training for a second and took a few sips of water from her bottle. Hercule didn't fail to notice just how terrible his daughter looked; her skin was white, her eyes red and puffy and there were big lines under her eyes.

"Eric called me you know," Hercule started, "He said that he and Amalia sent Erasa to get some help after everything that happened. Did you know?"

"Yes dad, Erasa told me that her parents sent her to a shrink. But I don't need to see one, there is nothing wrong with me!" she almost yelled at him.

"Then why is it that you have been getting sudden nightmares?"

After his question, silence suddenly reigned over their private gym. Videl looked at her father in shock, wondering how he had found out.

"I was worried about you last night, so I went to check up on you." he explained slowly. "When I reached your room I could see you turning and tossing in your sleep, sweat pouring down your body. Just after I entered, you started mumbling and shouting in your sleep. It was hard not to notice it."

"I don't need anyone's help, dad!" Videl yelled as she walked past her father and exited the gym. The look on her face showed nothing but shock and fear. Hercule knew all too well that both were coming from her pride more than any actual physical pain right now.

"Videl!" he called out just as she was about to exit the door. "You should know that asking for help isn't weak. Knowing your own limits and when you need someone to help you is a form of strength in itself! There is no shame in asking for help; it's part of the path to make you stronger."

"I know dad." Videl replied as she exited the door.

'Maybe you do,' the champ thought for a second, 'but knowing the truth and accepting it are two different things…'

XxX

'I can't believe dad actually heard me!' Videl was practically shouting to herself in her mind as she raced through the house. She ran into one of the many bathrooms and decided she needed to take a shower.

For the past three nights, Videl had not had any real sleep. The first night, still fresh from her talk with Behersk, she couldn't sleep at all; she kept thinking back to the events of the day and every time she closed her eyes she saw the two brutal killings again. The day after, Videl had managed to get into an uneasy sleep, but it had been haunted by the Commander shouting insults at her and people dying left and right. Eventually she saw Sharpener, Erasa, Gohan and her father sitting somewhere before they, too, were killed in her dream.

For the first time since she was a little girl, Videl had woken up screaming and crying that night.

It had taken her well over an hour to finally calm herself down a bit, but by that time she was no longer feeling sleepy at all. So instead, she went to the gym to do some workouts. And, fearing that she would have more nightmares, Videl tried to stall going to bed as long as she could. Eventually she was completely overcome with exhaustion and fell asleep on her bed.

Her dream that night had been one of the strangest she had ever had; Gohan, Saiyaman and the Commander were all standing together, talking to each other about something. Videl couldn't remember all the details, but, at one point Sharpener and Erasa had been killed again. This time they were killed by Gohan, Saiyaman and the Commander who were fighting to the death for some reason. The two masked warriors, in her dream, tried to kill each other and somehow Gohan got mixed up with them in the process.

As Videl finally stepped into the cold shower, she hoped that tonight, the nightmares wouldn't come.

"I hate nightmares…" she admitted to the silent walls. "I don't need help… I'll get over this… it'll stop soon… I hope."

But as she closed her eyes for a second to enjoy the cold water rushing down her body, the words of an old 'friend' echoed through her head.

"_Sometimes it's only the cowards who survive." _

"I'm NOT a coward!" she whispered to herself.

"_How stupid and naïve are you? The world does not abide by your standards!" _

"I'm not stupid…" again she was whispering. Because she was all alone in the room, no-one could see the few extra drops of water that had not come from the shower.

XxX

"Hmm…"

Sitting in the dark laboratory he owned, hidden deep from where normal humans could reach, a strange figure leaned back in his chair.

"It seems that my revenge has been halted for the moment…" the figure spoke. His voice was definitely male, but there was no doubting the tone of insanity that was clear to hear.

"It seems that my first target is defended much better then I had anticipated… truly curious, humans. They are the only organisms in the world that would so gladly destroy themselves but suddenly come to each other's aid in times of need. They are completely illogical, unpredictable and, most importantly, unnecessary. They have served their purpose in creating your beauty," he absently patted a strange metal tube with a number on it while speaking, "but after that, they have become completely obsolete. Even I, who has been human once, have decided so."

He had left his chair while talking and started walking around.

"It seems you will be set free sooner than I had thought my beauties." He spoke as he gently, almost lovingly, slid one hand down another tube. "I was a fool to depend on humans after all, I knew it so… but blame my weakling urges, I am still part human. But no more! I will make sure that you are ready before the world will be allowed to see you… and when you show your face, my revenge will be so sweet." He walked back to his chair, cackling madly.

"Warning." A quiet mechanical voice said from the speakers on the wall. "High emotional distress detected. Please calm your emotions; they will interfere with your logical abilities."

"Yes, yes I know." he spoke up, silencing the computer, "I am still, unfortunately, human after all. I can feel my desire for revenge running through my body, pumping my hatred for him ever faster, desire for my success and the anxiety for the death of my nemesis' child. And when that has been done, there are so many more that will need to be removed from this world…"

He looked at the computer screen, a light shining from inside his eye as a wire came out of his finger and connected him to the machine. A few seconds later the image on the screen changed.

"But I must not rush, oh no I mustn't." he said to himself. "Revenge will be so much more sweet if taken slowly. Preparations are half the pleasure after all. Let them enjoy their victory, they will be destroyed while they are in their euphoria."

Again, he started cackling madly as he started focusing on his next assignment.

XxX

"Well Brat, you've recovered enough of your strength by now. I think it's time for you to start testing that new style of yours in a spar." Vegeta confronted Gohan in the hallways.

"What? You think I can spar with you? I've recovered about 50 percent of my power in these last two days that I've been training, but we both know I'm nowhere near the level of power or speed you have." The demi-saiyan said with surprise. He knew Vegeta disliked fighting weakling opponents more than anything.

"Who said that you'll be fighting me?" the prince snorted. "In your current state I would swat you around the room without difficulty even if you'd transform. You'll be sparring against Trunks in a bit. He should pose enough of a challenge in your weakened state and you'll learn just how annoying a miniature opponent can be. He'll be waiting for you in Graviton 5 in half an hour. Better get ready."

"Sure thing." Gohan said with confidence as he turned away from Vegeta to return to his room and change into some training clothes. "Just don't get too upset when I beat him, ok?"

The older man didn't say anything, but glared at the teenager until he was out of sight. Then he turned himself to tell his son about what the young boy would be doing in half an hour. But just as he turned around a corner, one of his worst nightmares proved true.

"That was so sweet of you, Vegeta."

Bulma had overheard his conversation with Gohan.

"What're you talking about, woman?" the question came out far more aggressive then he had actually intended.

"You know that Gohan has always been one of Trunk's heroes. He's been dreaming of fighting against him ever since you first told him about how strong Gohan really is. And now you've arranged for it to be possible."

"I have not-" Vegeta protested, but he was quickly silenced when Bulma gave him a kiss.

"Don't act like that's not why you did it, love." She said as she pulled back. "You know I can see right through you. And you know, I still think it's really cute when you're being a kind father and trying to hide it." as she added the last part, even the Saiyan prince couldn't stop the minor blush from growing on his cheeks.

XxX

'_Oh my god… I can't believe I'm actually going to fight against Gohan!_' Trunks couldn't stand still at all. His dad had told him about the spar twenty-five minutes ago and Trunks had gotten changed into his best fighting gear and raced over to the graviton. There was only one other time he had willingly waited in the machine for so long, and that was when his dad had told him that he would start training Trunks.

As Gohan walked into the room, Trunks was disappointed that the first half-saiyan in existence hadn't dressed up as much as he had; Gohan wore only some training shorts and nothing else. His lack of clothing showed all the muscles and scars the teenager had all over his body to the boy.

"Are you ready Trunks?" Gohan asked. There was also excitement in his voice, but it wasn't as high as that of Trunks.

"I was born ready! Let's go!" he instantly charged forward, sending out a strong punch, but Gohan dodged the small fist by stepping back and allowing the fist to pass by only a millimeter. A fast kick, two more punches, a head-but, dropkick, double kick, low sweeping kick and many more moves from Trunks' arsenal of close combat attacks all met the same fate.

After Trunks had seemingly exhausted himself from his first salvo of attacks, Gohan send out his left fist. Trunks raised both his arms to block his face from the large fist, but Gohan withdrew it long before Trunks had put up his block; instead he raised one of his legs and kneed the floating boy in the stomach, hard. Trunks had completely fallen for the feint and couldn't defend against the kick, so he was send flying through the room bumping from the wall, into the ceiling, to another wall and finally crashing into the ground.

And Gohan had hardly moved at all.

"Damnit!" Trunks cursed as he stood back up, holding a hand over his stomach. "I knew he was good, but I can't even touch him!"

"Ready Trunks?" Gohan's question caused the youngster to turn around and look at him again, just as Gohan dropped into a stance to attack.

"Of course!" again there was confidence, almost arrogance, in his voice as he charged. Gohan looked--no glared at him while he was charging and all of a sudden Trunks broke of his charge and jumped to the side.

'No way! I wasn't even anywhere near him and I suddenly got scared for something? What happened?'

Already sweat was pouring down his forehead and arms, making his palms slicker, though he couldn't explain why.

'Maybe Mom was right… that 34th sandwich was a mistake… but Aunt Chichi's cooking is way too good.' The second oldest half-saiyan reasoned with himself.

XxX

"What just happened?" Chi-chi and Bulma asked at the same time. Realizing they had spoken at the exact same time, both women looked at each other before having a small giggle about it.

"Yeah what's wrong? Trunks never backs off when we're sparring! What did he get scared of?" Goten whined. Like Trunks a few moments before, he was hopping from one foot to another with excitement.

"He was forced to back down before even coming close, because Gohan released his killing intention." Vegeta said. His arms were, as usual, crossed but he was standing just behind Goten, obviously interested in seeing how this fight would go.

"Does that mean Uncle Gohan is going to… Is Trunks going to?" Bra asked timidly as she was leaning back against her father's legs, sitting on his feet.

"No, Gohan won't kill him. But he gives out such a strong intention to do so that Trunks, who has never faced anyone who would show him killing intention, was scared enough to back off. It looks like, even after 3 years of absence from any training whatsoever, the brat can still get back into the action quick enough."

Back in the room, Gohan had moved on the offense and was moving and attacking so fast, that Trunks couldn't do anything to curl up to defend from all the hits. Suddenly Gohan phased out, as Goten tried to kick him in the back, but instead crashed into Trunks.

The youngest son of Goku had also decided to join in the fight; he didn't want to miss the chance.

"Well, this should be interesting enough." Vegeta said with a smirk as both boys got back to their feet.

They nodded at each other before charging at Gohan as one. The older half-breed had no problem swaying back to evade Trunks' punch, but it was suddenly a lot quicker than he had anticipated; he could only barely jump out at maximum speed to avoid being hit.

As he vanished from the spot he was standing before, moving so fast that only Vegeta's eyes could follow him, he saw something that no-one had expected.

Gohan would have to give up his title as 'Youngest Super Saiyan In History' it seems… to two kids.

* * *

A/N:

Finally some more Gohan in the chapters, complete with some minor action! Next chapter will have the continuation of the spar between the male half-Saiyans and Videl tries to find a way to get out of the nightmares.

As always thanks to Zephyr-Tai-Ji and Mirrorsofillusions for beta-ing this for me. they've been a great help with improving the readability of this chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I still don't own DBZ or anything similar.

* * *

"How did you two turn into Super Saiyans!?" Gohan asked in complete surprise.

"We'll talk later, right now we have to kick your ass!" Trunks exclaimed as he charged forward. Goten was right behind him, hiding behind his friend.

Gohan phased out of the way from Trunks' fist, re-appearing above the two boys. A kick to the back of the head caused his younger brother crashing to into the floor. At the same time he sent out his hand and grabbed Trunks.

"Better watch what you say Trunks. If your mom hears you talking like that, she won't be happy."

Trunks couldn't react because Gohan almost instantly phased out again, barely avoiding a kick from Goten. Instead he let out a growl of annoyance as he sped up again, towards the place where Gohan had just phased in again. Gohan suddenly turned around in mid-air, hanging upside-down. Trunks' punch, which was aimed at the older Saiyan's head, simply hit the air between Gohan's knees. A second later, Gohan's knee shot out and hit the purple-haired boy on the face. A punch to the stomach quickly followed, knocking the air out of the surprised youngster.

With one opponent out for the moment, Gohan turned his attention to his brother. Goten entered with a punch, which Gohan evaded with ease, landed on the ground and catapulted himself back towards his brother for a head butt. Gohan moved to the side, evading Goten's attack, and grabbed his brother by the arm. Swinging the seven year old above his head he slammed him into the just recovered Trunks. Temporarily stunned by the impact, neither boy could do anything to prevent Gohan from finishing the spar with a well placed kick to Goten stomach. Still atop Trunks, the impact hit both of the boys hard, knocking them out of Super Saiyan form.

"That was a bit more tiring than I would have expected." Gohan commented as he stood still, catching his breath. "I never would have thought they were Super Saiyans at their age though. I had to use just about all I had without turning Super myself. They're pretty good for their age."

XxX

"Wauw…" Bra said from atop her father's shoulders. She had climbed up after Goten had entered the Graviton chamber. "I didn't know Uncle Gohan was that strong… Goten and Trunks couldn't even do anything to him."

"Of course not." Vegeta replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Gohan is far too experienced to be defeated by a bunch of kids. They had one chance to hit him and that was when they surprised him by transforming. Gohan's normal speed is already enough to outmaneuver them by far. And besides that, their attacks are too predictable. Like that, they'll never touch an experienced combatant."

The two women in the room looked surprised at the elder Saiyan.

"Wow, I have never heard him talk that highly about Gohan before." Chichi whispered to Bulma.

"He does a pretty good job of hiding it, but he really does respect the others you know. Gohan and Goku more than the others, but he respects them all." The blue-haired genius whispered back. "He'll only even? lower his guard when Bra's asking the questions."

"Looks like his powers returned at a faster rate when he was fighting." Vegeta continued, having not heard the exchange between the two women, "He managed to increase his speed quite a bit since they started the fight. At this rate he'll be back to normal in a few more days. Now, let's go and interrogate your brother about his little secret."

With that, Vegeta entered the code to deactivate the Graviton, returning the internal gravity level to normal again, removed Bra from his shoulders and walked into the chamber. Gohan was in one corner, helping the younger Halflings to their feet.

"Well, now that that's over, I think it's time for you two to confess." Vegeta said as he glared down at the boys. "Where and how did you learn to transform into Super Saiyans? When did the legendary warrior transformation become a children's playtime?"

The two boys looked a bit nervous under the scowl, but after a few seconds Goten started talking.

"Well, you see, Mr. Vegeta," he stuttered, "a while back, Mommy was training me and then we went _Woosh _and _Bang_ and _Kapow_and then I was glowing and it was TOTALLY AWESOME!" as he spoke, Goten made big movements with his arms, shouting some of the words happily.

Vegeta turned his gaze towards Trunks a second later. The son scurried under the even more intense scowl from his father.

"Well, you see dad… a while back, a couple weeks ago really… Goten and I had a spar, and he held me down for a moment, and then I tried to break out and I couldn't, and then I was a bit angry at him about it, and all of a sudden I was glowing, and I threw Goten off me and I was a Super Saiyan."

Vegeta didn't answer for a minute. With a 'fine' as his goodbye, he turned and left the room.

Trunks and Goten looked at each other for a moment, not knowing what to think about what had happened. It was Gohan that spoke up after a few moments.

"Wow, I still can't believe you're Super Saiyans. I was almost twice your age when I managed to first transform. Don't worry about Vegeta, he just needs to cool off and get used to your transformations. Thanks for the spar, I enjoyed it, but now I have to get back to work." After shuffling the hair on both of the young warrior's heads, he turned around and left as well.

XxX

"Miss Videl, you have a visitor." The maid addressed Videl in the gym. "It's Miss Erasa."

"Oh ok." Videl said as she put the dumbbell back in place. "Can you tell her I'll be right over? I need to change my shirt."

"Yes ma'am." The maid replied.

A few minutes later, Videl met Erasa in the lobby. The blond instantly hugged her raven-haired friend tightly. Still holding Videl at the shoulders, the blond stepped back a bit, looking at Videl.

"Vi, girl, you look terrible." She stated bluntly. "You look like you haven't slept in years!"

"Gee thanks Erasa, you're just full of compliments aren't you?" Videl gave a sarcastic retort. She knew she looked terrible, with puffy eyes and shallow skin. But she hadn't had a good night's sleep for almost a week now.

"Let's get some food and drinks and then go to my room." Videl suggested, turning around to go to the kitchen. Erasa followed Videl, knowing the routes in the house just as well as Videl did.

"So Videl, did you hear that my parents had made an appointment for me with a shrink?" She asked. When Videl nodded, Erasa continued quickly.

"And, like, in the first appointment, he was really nice and all; I didn't have to lie down or anything, instead I was just talking to him and he was talking back and asking questions and stuff. And that night I slept like a baby, it's strange but it really worked. I didn't think it would, but it did!" As she talked Erasa got more and more excited with every sentence.

"Erasa, did my dad tell you to persuade me to go see a shrink?" Videl suddenly interrupted.

"Well he said he was worried about you, and I have to say that he's right Vi, you look terrible, and asked me if I could tell you about the shrink. But besides that, I haven't even told you the best part yet." she paused for a moment, looking at Videl with big bright eyes.

"What would that be?" Videl asked, curiously.

"That shrink is totally hot." Erasa giggled. "And I have an appointment again at seven tonight, so we don't have all that much time."

"Erasa," Videl started with a sweat drop, "Its only noon. We have almost the entire day. You don't always have to try and flirt with _every_ guy"

"I know, but I have to fix my make up before I see him and whenever we talk, We Talk!" the blond wisely said.

"Whatever." Videl said, acting annoyed, as she grabbed a bag of snacks and a bottle of drinks. "Let's go."

As they entered Videl's room, Erasa almost jumped onto her friend's large bed, seeking a comfortable position to lie in. Videl joined her a bit more discrete, not pounding her bed but simply stepping it.

"So Vi, what have you been up to this week? This is the longest we haven't seen or spoken each other since you found out that Stephan had a crush on me when you liked him." Erasa said cheerfully, taking a few chips to eat.

"I did not like that guy!" Videl yelled. "I only said he had a nice butt once! Ok, maybe twice." She added when Erasa raised her eyebrow in a mocking way.

"Which, for you, is as good as saying you're head over heels with the guy. Anyway, what have you been up too?"

"I've been doing some training." Videl simply answered. "I haven't had any time do recently so I thought I'd grab my chance now that we have some free time."

"And while you're at it, you decided to neglect sleeping altogether? Based on how you look." The bubbly blond quickly added when Videl scowled at her.

"I have not; I just look terrible because I didn't tidy myself up this week. There was no need to since all I was going to do was training." Videl quickly said, still glaring at her best friend.

"You know Videl, ever since we were twelve you couldn't lie to me. You can't now either." As she spoke Erasa had a very knowing smile on her face. "I've seen you after doing intense trainings for a month, or the entire summer holiday, and you didn't look half as bad as you are looking now. What's bothering you, girl? You know I won't tell anyone."

Videl didn't reply, instead taking a gulp of the drink she had a brought. When Erasa didn't speak up again within ten seconds, Videl realized that she had no choice but to give an answer.

"It's pretty much everything that happened that night. But most of all, the Commander; he's such an asshole; I just want to punch him hard." She admitted, covering herself with anger at the masked soldier that saved their lives.

"Yeah, everything that happened was pretty bad, huh? Especially all the stuff that happened in that church. I was scared to death and I didn't even see the fight; I only heard it. And I bet that the scene didn't exactly look pretty either, with everything destroyed, all those guys injured and bleeding and stuff. But I have to say that the Commander is actually kinda cool." Erasa made up for the few seconds of silence by spewing even more words than before.

"What'd you mean cool? The guy's a jerk, he's anti-social, he doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone else and he's plain cruel!" Videl objected. '_How could Erasa ever think highly of that masked maniac?'_

"Exactly! He's such an anti-hero! And he simply radiates 'I am cool' all over! Normally I don't really like the raincoat thing, way too overused by guys who try to act cool, but it really suits him!" she almost skipped around while she was cheerfully explaining. "And he totally didn't care about anything other than what he came to do, but in the meantime, no-one got hurt because of everything he did. So yeah, he really is a total anti-hero. And anti-heroes are cool by default! Its in the rules!"

"He's not cool, he's a killer. And he's a big jerk above everything else!" Videl repeated. For some reason, aside from her frustration at the sudden idolization that Erasa had for the Commander, Videl started feeling a lot better. Friendly bantering with her best friend seemed to help her out already.

"We can keep this up all day girl, so let's change subjects instead. Why can't you sleep at night?" Erasa suddenly asked. "Do you have nightmares? I know I had the first night. And it was one of the worst nightmares I had in a long time…"

"Yeah I do." Videl was surprised when the words left her mouth, but they wouldn't stop flowing after she admitted her problem. "Whenever I try to sleep, I keep having nightmares where everyone I care about dies. Every night, I see you, Sharpener, Gohan and my dad being murdered. I just can't sleep like that. I wake up every evening, sweating heavily. I can't take it anymore…"

After Videl's sudden emotional outburst, Erasa was completely silent. She didn't know what to say to make her friend feel better, except silently listening to her.

"And even if I don't see you all get killed, I have dreams of my dad killing others. How can I even go to sleep knowing that I'll see the people I care about the most kill or be killed?"

"Why do you get nightmares about your father killing people? He's a nice and good man, why –"

"The Commander," she interrupted, "he told me about my father having killed Cell and his minions. But I never heard my dad about killing anyone, I never even thought about it. But dad never acted different, he never had problems like these after the Cell games." Videl was somehow getting close to tears now as she spoke.

"But I can't ask him either." She continued. "How can I go up to him and ask 'hey dad, how did it feel to kill Cell and his little clones?' I can't… I'd have to live with my dad admitting that he's a murderer and he hardly felt anything afterwards. I can't, I just can't… I don't want to live with that…" as she finished speaking, tears finally started slowly dripping down her cheeks.

Erasa didn't say anything, instead she simply grabbed Videl and hugged her as tight as she could, both girls crying as they held each other.

XxX

"Ok Sharpener, speed it up a notch!" the older man ordered as he moved the mitts he held in his hand a bit higher. Sharpener instantly responded by smashing it twice with his left, followed by a stronger strike from his right hand.

As the trainer was moving the mitts around, giving Sharpener new aiming points. Sharpener hardly saw the mitts themselves. Instead, whatever he hit suddenly looked, to him, like it had short green hair and a very confident grin on its face.

"That's enough." The brown-haired man declared after a few minutes. "Take a break for a few minutes and then hit the sandbag a bit more."

"Got it." the long haired blonde said as he pulled his gloves off to get a drink. For the past week, ever since the hostage taking, he had been on fire in his training sessions. He had been burning up with a desire to punch and strike, just like Videl, but with the prospect of his next match coming up soon, that was good.

'_Oh yeah, that reminds me,'_ thinking of his next match brought to memory something that Sharpener had been meaning to ask for almost a month.

"Hey coach!" he yelled into the gym. "Do we still have a ticket left for my match? There's someone I want to give it to."

"Sure, your matches don't sell out completely yet." the coach said after a minute's thought. "The critics like you good enough, but the crowds aren't that hot for you yet. That should change if you win your next match though. You'll be ranked third in the country. And if you win the one after that, you'll be going up against the champion himself." He added excitedly. "And if you can keep that fire that's burning in you right now, you'll flatten them all!"

"Perhaps, but let's not underestimate our opponents. Ever since I won the rookie kings, I have had increasing difficulty with my opponents. I think it's best we just focus on each opponent before aiming towards the next one. The champion is an especially big stepping stone." Sharpener reasoned as he started rapidly striking the sandbag.

'_I just know it__,'_ he let his thoughts stray as he hit again, _'after my match, Johnson will be out of my head. I'll be able to live normally after that. But how do I get Videl out of it?'_

He took a break from hitting for a second, an idea struck him.

"Maybe Nerd-boy has a solution; he's smart enough for it."

His mind made up, Sharpener continued striking the sandbag again.

XxX

'Phew, that's better.' Gohan thought as he flew through the skies, the lands shooting underneath him so fast it was impossible to tell the difference. For the past week, he had either been locked up in the Graviton (sometimes with Goten and Trunks) with increasing levels of gravity, locked up in his office or being chased around the Capsule Corporation main building by Trunks, Goten, Bra and, on one occasion, Marron who came around for the afternoon with her parents.

'_Now then, time to get back into the suit.'_ Gohan thought with excitement. Pressing a button on his watch, Gohan was momentarily embedded with light before he was dressed in the now famous outfit of the Great Saiyaman. As he flew towards Satan City, Saiyaman noticed a lot of people pointing at him, waving and yelling greetings at him.

He waved back as he slowed down a bit, hearing many of the people happily greet him. But just as he flew over one of the outer regions of the city, he heard a distinct cry for help from below. At once, Gohan stopped and looked down at the location of the voice. Looking down, he saw a man being held on the ground, surrounded by no less than four very tall, muscular men.

Taking a minute to check out the situation before entering, Saiyaman dived down when the man had surrendered but was still being beaten. The big men noticed the growing shadow, looked up and quickly jumped away from Saiyaman's landing place.

Upon landing, Saiyaman instantly dropped into his trademark pose, crouched low and hands held above his head, pointing towards his nose.

"What do you men think you are doing? What is going on here?" he questioned.

"S-s-s-Saiyaman." One of the four said, taking a step back in fear.

"We… we were following our orders!" another shouted. One looked at the other three, obviously braver than his friends, before he spoke with confidence.

"We were ordered by our boss to teach this little worm a lesson. He needed it." he explained as he cracked his knuckles threateningly.

"And for what reason would this man need a 'lesson?'" Saiyaman asked, switching to a normal standing position.

"NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!" the brute shouted as he charged at the super-hero. His large fist had almost reached the helmet, but all of a sudden, Saiyaman had lifted one hand and held out a single finger to block. It stopped the fist without any problem.

"That will do." A new voice, this one much softer then the ruffians spoke. "He truly is the Great Saiyaman. Please stand down; you will never stand a chance against his strength."

From out of the shadows of one of the buildings stepped a man of average height, dressed in a business suit and holding a briefcase. There were two other men standing around him as bodyguards.

"Please forgive my rudeness." The man greeted. "You do not know me and I would prefer it to stay that way. I hope you understand that. I have been hoping I could meet with you. Allow me to explain."

"I am new in town and I hope to start up some very… productive… work here." He was obviously choosing his words with great care, avoiding the chance of upsetting the caped man.

"But it is the sort of work that is best kept in the shadows. Now I have no problems with the police. They are far too occupied with other affairs to mind me, not to mention that a little bit of money will keep them blind from me. It is you, however, that I would most wish to speak on this matter." He looked at Saiyaman sharply, eyeing the keychain around his neck carefully.

"I have a business proposal to you." he finally said. "All that I ask of you is to simply… forget… to check up on this part of the city for the next week. I will be done with my work afterwards. You can have this briefcase now, and I will give you another one once I am done with my work and have not been disturbed." As he mentioned the briefcase, the man opened it.

Inside was money, all in notes of a hundred, more than Saiyaman had ever seen before in his life. He couldn't help but gulp at the sheer amount of money he saw before him.

"Think about it… no-one will know… you will be rich and happy, no-one can blame you for anything. It is a once in a lifetime offer."

Finally, after staring between the briefcase to the man and back to the briefcase for a few moments, Saiyaman extended his arms and lifted the briefcase from the arms of its owner.

"I knew you would be smart enough to take up this offer."

* * *

A/N:

A surprise update, posted much sooner then normal for me. I'll rant for a bit now, so be warned.

This was my first attempt at girl talk and, being a guy myself, I have not ever been present at one so please forgive me if its totally of mark. According to Mirrors of Illusion it's pretty good and she is a girl, so I'll have to take her word for it.

It's also Gohan's return to action, Saiyaman's reappearance and a bit of sharpener centric.

As always much thanks to both Mirrors of Illusion (now more then ever for the girl talk part) and Zephyr-tai-ji for the beta-reading of this chapter. And for those of you who don't know yet, I have a poll in my profile asking for your opinion on my OC's. I would like to ask all of you to vote on it. it gives me a good idea of what you all think of my ability to create characters.

In the summer holidays I don't have to work on school anymore (thank god) so instead I'm working full time. hopefully I'll be able to give you some more updates to this story (I'm aiming for the 2 week mark just like I did last year) but I can't make any promises just yet. so don't flame me if I don't manage to update within 2 weeks. At the longest, I'll update at the 4 week mark again.

As always (if your still reading after my rant) please review and tell me what you think.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: still don't own nothing.

* * *

"I knew you would be smart enough to take up this offer."

Saiyaman looked at the briefcase in his hands for a few seconds, letting the man's sentence hang in the air, before he moved again. In a fluid motion he locked the briefcase, switched it over in his hands and held it out to give back to its owner.

The businessman looked surprised, but didn't say anything. It was the super-hero who spoke up at last.

"My good sir, I have no intention of accepting any sort of gifts from anyone." he said, his voice loud and cheerful as ever. "If you have this much money that you can freely give away, may I suggest that you donate it to a good cause? In doing so you will help a great deal of people."

Having said his piece, the helmet wearer turned around and prepared to depart, but he was stopped by a sudden voice.

"Wait, please, Saiyaman. Don't leave yet." the man who had offered to bribe him said called out. There was something different in the tone of his voice this time, it was no longer cunning and quiet.

"Allow me to explain." He said as the superhero froze in mid take-off. "I am not actually a crime lord or anything of the like. I'm an actor for STV here in Satan City. I was asked to make contact with you and this was the only way I could think of doing it. I knew you would reject my offer, but it was part of my assignment to do so." He explained. While talking he pointed to a area to his left, before continuing.

"I was asked to get on tape, your reaction to a very tempting bribe and a request from my company director. This entire thing, from the cash to the beat up person, was set up. I'm really very sorry but it was the only way I could think off to gauge your reaction in a realistic situation."

While the actor explained, Saiyaman turned back around, facing the man again. He still didn't say anything, allowing the man to continue his explanation.

"I'm really sorry, really. But I can assure you that no one is hurt in any way, all of it was make-up. I know this'll sound pretty rude, considering that we've just tricked you, but I'm supposed to ask you for an interview on STV. So would you please give us an interview, in a studio? We won't ask you to reveal your identity, not ask you personal questions of course, but we would like to learn a bit more about our new and reliable savior. Please?" as he said the last part, the actor plastered on a pleading look on his face.

Still standing still, Saiyaman waited and considered his answer for a few seconds.

'_I can deny it, I have every right to, but what would the point be? This could very well be my one chance to make a big difference here in the city.'_

"Very well, I'll do it." he proclaimed loudly. At what time and place do you wish to hold this interview?"

"Ehem), to be completely honest with you, I wasn't told about the time and date…" the actor sheepishly said. "But, now that you've agreed, they will broadcast a time and place along with the news one of these days. Sorry about that."

"It's no problem." Saiyaman replied. "I always keep an eye open for the news. Good day."

With that he sped off into the sky.

XxX

The two girls stood by, waiting, as Sharpener closed his locker. When he looked up, he noticed Gohan strolling casually down the hallway. He looked lost in thought as always, but greeted the trio cheerfully.

"Hey guys. How're you doing?"

"I'm fine." Videl curtly replied.

"I'm cool." Sharpener said as he rummaged in his backpack for something.

"I'm great!" Erasa chirped up. "How've you been?"

"I'm doing ok, and I'm on time for a change." Gohan smiled, just as the bell rang.

As the girls turned to move to their class, Sharpener suddenly grabbed Gohan's arm, holding him back.

"Wait for a sec, I want to talk to you without the girls around for a bit." The blond male explained. Gohan looked at him, apparently surprised, but didn't say anything until the girls were out of earshot.

"Look Nerd-boy, I've got something to give you." Sharpener said as he pulled a card out of his bag. "This is a ticket to my match next week on Saturday. I was hoping you could come and watch it. Erasa and Videl are coming as well."

"Oh thanks." Gohan said still a bit confused. "I think I can make it, but why couldn't you tell me in front of Videl and Erasa? If they're already going, then there shouldn't be a problem, should there?"

"Yeah, I know." the long haired teenager agreed. "But there was something else I wanted to talk to you about. You saw what Videl looked like didn't you?"

"Yeah, she looked kinda tired." The demi-saiyan remarked.

"I had a talk with Erasa and Hercule." Sharpener lowered his voice, leaning closer to Gohan. "They both told me that Videl had hardly slept the last week. Erasa spend a few hours chatting with her, and she told me that Videl really looked better afterwards. She wouldn't tell me what they had talked about though… but anyway, I wanted to talk to Videl about what happened last week, but we all know she'll just evade me and say she's fine.

That's what I want to ask you; she's a bit more open to you than she is to me. And besides that, you're a lot smarter than anyone else I know. I want to ask if maybe you could talk to her for a bit, help her get over all this."

He looked at Gohan, his eyes wide and eager.

"Well…" the black haired teenager replied, slightly backing away from his blond friend. "I can't promise to help her with anything, but I'll try to talk to her."

Sharpener let out a great breath of relief, and swung his arm around Gohan's shoulders as they walked towards the classroom.

"Thanks Gohan. I owe you one."

XxX

"What's keeping Sharpy and Gohan?" Erasa asked as she sat down. "Where did they go? They were right behind us."

"No idea." The tired answer came from beside her. Videl was making a brave attempt at trying to pay attention, but she was supporting her head with one hand.

"You know, I was thinking… maybe you should talk to Gohan for a bit. He said he saw everything happen as well, didn't he? From the Commander's helmet's camera or something."

"Yeah, I think he mentioned something about that." Videl murmured, still not paying a lot of attention, until a realization hit her.

'_W__ait a second…_' she thought. '_Gohan told me he had seen everything, but back then and this morning as well, he didn't seem to have any problems… how could he not have problems after everything that happened? Something's odd about him… Aargh I'm too tired for suspicions!_'

"Nice of you to join us, Mr Son and Mr Pencil. You know that class started five minutes ago don't you?" the teacher said as the two boys entered the class.

"Sorry sir…" Gohan said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "We were talking and missed the bell."

"Yeah, what he said." Sharpener added. "I asked him to come watch my next boxing match and had to explain him how to get to the boxing arena. It took a while, sorry."

As they were excused by the teacher, they resumed a minor talk just before they sat down.

"How'd you think of a lie like that so easily?" the country boy asked.

"It's easy, comes with the experience. Don't tell me you never lied before?"

"Nope. I can't lie to save my life…" the black haired boy admitted as he scratched the back of his head again."

'_If they weren't talking about __S__harpener's boxing match, what were they talking about?_' Videl wondered just before she zoned out the teacher's lecture.

XxX

-triiiiiing-

At the sound of the final bell the entire class rose as one, grabbed their bags and left the school building. As he grabbed the books from his locker, Gohan thought about what Sharpener had asked him in the morning. All throughout the day, Sharpener had been giving him expecting looks while Videl, when she wasn't nearly sleeping, stared at him in suspicion.

'_She was looking really bad. Sharpener looked like he could deal with it pretty good, but he didn't see either of the two murders up close. Erasa has that help with the psychologist but Videl plainly refuses to accept help._' He sighed as he realized where everything was going. '_I know I practically promised Sharpener to talk to Videl, but the only thing I can think of is telling her how to cope with it from my own experience. With all my brainpower I can't think of anything else… I need to read up on psychology…_' the teenager concluded with a sigh.

"Hey Gohan, we're going out for a coke and some fries." Erasa suddenly piped up from behind him. "Wanna come with us?"

"Yeah sure, I could use a drink." He replied with a smile.

'_I've got to help them. If telling them a bit of my past could help out, then I'll tell them.'_ he finally decided what he would do as he closed his locker and turned to go with his friends.

Twenty minutes later, Gohan found himself staring out the window as he and the others sat down at a snack bar. As he stared out of the window, Gohan couldn't help but suddenly notice how different the city had become compared to when he first arrived here.

'_The day I arrived there were hardly any people walking around on the streets and there was screaming because of a robbery or something every couple minutes.'_ he remembered. _'But now I see families walking around without any problems and Videl hasn't received a single call from the police today. That means I didn't have to do anything either, it's really different.'_

"This entire city looks different doesn't it?" Sharpener voiced Gohan's thoughts as he sat down opposite of his classmate, carrying a tray with their drinks and food. "Much more quiet and a lot more smiling and laughing going on. There was supposed to be a TV special coming on about that in a bit, maybe we can see it here." He added as he watched the small TV hanging in a corner. "My dad said it'd be on in about-" he quickly checked his watch "10 minutes or so. Should be interesting to see."

"Talking about interesting TV…" Erasa suddenly piped up, sitting straighter in her chair with a smile. "Did any of you see that special TV show this morning? They pulled out the old idea of hidden cameras and tried to trick Saiyaman on the camera. Of course he didn't fall for it, but it was really exciting to see!"

"He probably didn't fall for it because of luck." Videl bitterly commented, though there was no real venom in her voice. "He's too dumb to see through a trick like that."

"What'd you mean by that?" Gohan asked, trying to hide the fact that he took Videl's comment personally.

"I'm willing to believe he's a good guy, but Saiyaman's dumb as a rock sometimes." She simply said. She had woke up shortly after school had ended, but she was still a bit grumpy.

"Perhaps." Sharpener agreed, causing Gohan to look at him in surprise. "But you still have to agree that what he does is good. And it has an obvious effect as well. That's what that show is supposed to be about. The effect of the three major events of the last year on the crime rate of this city."

"What three major events?" Gohan asked, glad to move away from the subject of his super-hero persona.

"Well, the first of them is Grumpy here joining the police force almost a year ago." Sharpener said, indicating Videl. She answered her new nickname with a glare and a rude gesture, causing Sharpener to laugh a bit.

"The other two are a bit more recent." He continued. "First off we have the appearance of Saiyaman and then there's the whole hostage thing from last week. Both have had quite an influence on the crime rate."

"Why is the hostage taking included as well? Didn't the CCDD make it very clear that they won't help the police out?" Gohan's curiosity was spiked; he wanted to know how all of that had happened.

"Well, to start with; the hostage thing was one of the most reported things in the last year from this city; it was broadcasted all over the world. It would make most crooks think a little more when such an impressive feat had been managed under their noses, the security in the city has been on a higher level." Sharpener started, looking at Videl with caution.

"And," Erasa started, obviously knowing what Sharpener was evading because of Videl, "Don't forget the Commander and the CCDD in general. They were very impressive in the way they handled things, I wouldn't be surprised if they scared half the low lifes away from this city." She ignored the glare Videl was giving her as she praised the Commander and happily continued. "And the stuff he said after he saved us, the stuff about the police force and all, got the police so angry that they're much more motivated then ever before to prove him wrong. They didn't take too well to being insulted and ridiculed on international television."

"You would –" Videl started, but she was interrupted when Sharpener reached a hand over the table and put it over her mouth.

"It's starting!" He interrupted as he pointed to the TV. Immediately, the three other teenagers turned towards the TV, where a man in his forties was shown on screen. Behind him was a white screen, indicating a numerical analysis.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Dr. Erusaem and I'm here to give you a special view on the recent shift on the crime rate in Satan City. I, myself, am a math specialist and will be explaining the change in what I hope is the clearest possible way. Now if you would all please look at the screen behind me, I will explain."

He turned around and started pointing towards the screen behind him. A red line popped up and slowly started climbing the screen, until it seemed to even out a bit.

"Now this line represents the crime rate of the following years. This is from the time after Hercule's arrival in Satan City some six years ago." the mathematician explained, pointing at the lowest part of the line. "As you can see, the crime started increasing sometime after he arrived in the city, until it reached an alarming all time high around two and a half year ago. If we take that rating as the hundred percent and go from there, you will see that over the following time the crime stayed stable, with very little fluctuation."

As he spoke the red line continued on, making minor dips and rises at random points, until at one point it started a clear descend and finally straightened out again, a bit lower then it was before.

"Now this rather large fluctuation here is the arrival of Miss Videl Satan as an acting officer in the police force. She managed to induce a significant shift in power, reducing the crime rating by nearly ten percent in the two months after her arrival and keeping it stable at that level. The rating stayed at this stable, yet still high level, for a year."

As he spoke, the line suddenly made a very sharp drop down, until it was below half of the screen, and then started to reduce the angle of the drop. Even so, the line didn't equal out.

"This very sharp drop is, obviously, the arrival of the Great Saiyaman. In less then a month's time since his arrival he has managed to reduce the previous crime rate by nearly sixty-seven percent which, along with Miss Satan's activities reduced the previous rate to a mere twenty-three percent of the original. And then, of course, we have the events of last week that I'm sure we all remember quite clearly."

The line dropped even more, nearly touching the bottom of the screen before stopping it's movement.

"This is the rating after the hostage taking situation, a mere five percent of what it was a year and a half ago. Now the reason for this second, very sharp drop is most likely –"

"Can't they do anything other then praise that asshole?" Videl interrupted, drawing the attention of the group away from the TV screen. "Everywhere I hear people talking about him and all they're saying these days are good things. 'He's so cool' 'He did so much good to the city!' did everyone simply forget that that shithead is a murderer?"

At her outburst, all three of her companions suddenly fell silent. Sharpener and Gohan exchanged a look, which clearly said _'this is where you step in nerd-boy.' _

"Look, Vi you may not like him, but you have to admit that what he did was good…" Erasa reasoned, but she was quickly silenced by the glare that Videl gave.

"Oh right, and next you're going to say that Johnson was a nice, caring guy right? Just because he offered us cigarettes and allowed us to eat dinner in peace? Or did you forget the minor detail that he SHOT someone without any reason!" the anger in Videl's voice was obvious as she shouted so loud that several other clients turned around to watch what was going on.

"Videl, chill out already!" Sharpener said, pushing Videl back into her chair. "We know that they did some bad stuff but you can't deny that it was the Commander that saved us, it's because of him we're sitting here. I'm not saying I like him, but you can't deny that he did what was right."

"Videl." This time it was Gohan that spoke, but his voice was so calm that all three watched at him. Even Videl couldn't shout anymore. "I know this'll sound strange, especially coming from me, but… I know you're hurting from what happened, and you probably feel like you're burning up inside. But you have to understand that the past's the past. There's nothing you can do about it. It's harsh, but it's the truth."

"What do you mean!? Don't act like you know about what I'm feeling and thinking!"

"I mean that you couldn't have stopped what had happened anyway. And I know what you feel and think a bit because I know you, if only a little. You're a responsible person, so you feel like you should have stopped Johnson and the Commander what happened."

Again there was a small silence, Videl looking dumbfound at Gohan's last statement. He used the pause to continue.

"But there was nothing you could have done Videl. I know you're probably tearing yourself apart with thoughts like 'if only I was a little stronger…' and 'if only I could have stopped him…' But there was nothing you could have done. It's hard, I know, but you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened.'

"Why should I listen to you?" Videl suddenly asked. She hadn't shouted, but there was a thick layer of venom in her voice as she spoke. "You say you saw everything that happened same as I did, but you don't even flinch about it. You also saw those two murders and you're not even bothered by it. You keep saying 'I know' but you don't know anything about me or how I'm feeling. Why don't you explain how it is that you don't even have any problems mister? Or did you simply look away from those scenes?"

By this point, Erasa and Sharpener looked highly uncomfortable, but still paid close attention to the conversation. They were standing ready to interfere if things got too out of hand.

"The reason I keep saying 'I know,'" Gohan started, taking a deep breath as he spoke, "is because I do know what you're feeling. Let me explain."

"This will sound pretty strange because it's coming from me, but I'm actually from a long family of fighters. Everyone on my dad's side of the family and a lot of people on my mom's side of the family are fighters. And I don't mean fighters for stuff like tournaments or anything, but real fights, to the death sometimes." He added as he saw the look on Videl's face. Without giving a chance for the others to say something, he continued.

"Over the course of his life, my dad had made a couple of good friends and each of them was a fighter as well. Because of that, I saw fights ever since I was a little kid. My mom was adamant about me becoming something other then a fighter, but she didn't forbid me from sometimes watching the actual fights…"

He took another great pause as Videl, now sitting on the edge of her seat as she listened, looked at him.

"But like I said, some of the fights were to the death… I saw more then one of my father's friends die in front me, killed by their opponent. They were all older than I was and I knew then, if even a little, to all be very strong. Some of them, I even thought to be undefeatable. But they were killed nonetheless, by opponents stronger then they were. Killed in combat, attacked from behind, surprised by the superior power of an opponent… there were all sorts of deaths for them. It wasn't pretty, but in the end you learn to live with it, or be destroyed by the memories. It's one of the reasons that I hate violence."

Again silence reigned when Gohan finished talking. After a few moments, Videl finally spoke up.

"I didn't know that." she carefully said. "I- ehm I…Look Gohan, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." she finally blurted out.

"It's ok Videl." He assured her with a smile. "But next time, remember; there are a lot of people on this world who are hurt in one way or another. You can't save or protect them all from harm, but if you need to talk, it can often help you out."

* * *

A/N:

As promised, the new chapter is uploaded after two weeks waiting.

Many thanks to both Zephyr-Tai-Ji and Mirrorsofillusions as always for beta-ing for me.

As always, please review.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I own nothing from the Dragonball Z universe and I also own nothing from the Hajime no Ippo series. I'm borrowing some elements to amuse myself.

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" the Coach asked just as Videl, Erasa and Gohan entered the changing room.

Sharpener was already standing, shifting weight from one leg to the other and doing some light shadowing, and looked up as they entered his room.

"Yeah, I'm ready." He answered his coach, before addressing his friends. "Hey guys, glad to see you. So, Nerd-boy, ready to see a boxing match up close?"

"Yeah," the timid teenager replied, "I heard a lot of good things about this, should be a good fight right?"

"Yeah and I'm anxious about it too." Sharpener said as his hands started flying again. "I have a bit of build up tension I want to get rid off and I'm looking forward to a KO. My last two matches were by decision, but I'm burning up for this one."

"Just don't burn yourself out in the first round hotshot." Videl said, smiling a bit. Ever since Gohan had told her a bit about her past in that café, almost a month ago now, she had returned mostly to normal. She still didn't like talking about what happened, she disliked motorcycles in general these days and she still hated the Commander, but at least she was mostly back to normal. And with the extra rest she now had because the police had only needed her twice in four weeks, she was looking a whole lot better as well.

"Well Sharpy, good luck! We're sitting on the front row behind your corner as always!" Erasa said, winking and waving at him as she left."

"Knock him out good ok? Don't disappoint us." Videl said, throwing a mock-glare at her blond friend as she left as well.

"Not gonna say anything encouraging?" Sharpener asked as Gohan didn't move. The black haired genius stood there for a second, before finally speaking up.

"Be careful, don't get too hurt?" the way Gohan said it made it obvious he wasn't sure what to say. Sharpener didn't say anything, instead he placed one gloved hand on Gohan's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, if I win I'll hardly even feel the pain. And besides that, my opponent's pretty slow, I'll manage to evade or block most of his attacks. Just get ready to cheer me on good."

"Got it… and… good luck."

With that Gohan, following after Videl and Erasa, exited the door to take his seat near the ring, leaving Sharpener to warm up.

XxX

"So Gohan, seeing how you're the resident genius," Videl said as Gohan sat between her and Erasa, "what do you think the chances are for Sharpener to win?"

"Honestly, I can't say. I don't know much about Sharpener's boxing level, style and strength. And I know even less of his opponent's."

"Well, with brains like yours it shouldn't take you that long to put a good estimation in before long." Erasa said from his other side. "When do you think you'll be able to give your estimation?"

"Boxing rounds are three minutes a piece right?" Gohan asked. "I think I'll be able to make a estimation after the first round. That should be enough time to check out both their fighting styles."

"That's pretty fast, are you really so good at analyzing?" Videl asked with surprise.

"Well, like I told you I grew up watching fighters, so I'm used to quickly seeing who can grab the upper hand although, of course, everything can change with one or two good hits." Gohan explained, scratching the back of his head again, "But yeah, I'm pretty good at analyzing things, so I can always see flaws or strong points from theory pretty fast."

"Wanna hear some more about his opponent then, fix up your image a bit beforehand?" Videl offered, getting interested in Gohan's claims of prediction.

"No thanks, I have all the information I can get from hearing. Sharpener's a high level technical style boxer who can change styles and has a lot of different techniques. His opponent is a charging close-combat fighter with a pretty mean right and good defenses. Only seeing them now will help clear up the analyses."

Videl looked in silence at Gohan for a second, surprised by his sudden knowledge of the fighting styles and tactics, before speaking up.

"I thought you didn't like violence? Why are you sounding so eager to watch this then?"

"Well…" Gohan started, "I really hate violence, but I think that a fight can be a very good thing sometimes. It sounds odd I know, but its how I feel."

"Yeah, well I'm getting a bit used to a few weird things coming from you." Videl said, thought her tone was more friendly then it was biting.

Suddenly the lights dimmed a bit, and a spotlight turned towards one of the two athlete entrance-halls.

"It's beginning!" Squealed Erasa, just as the announcer's voice sounded through the speakers.

"Ladies and Gentlemeeeen! Welcome tonight to this all-exciting main event. The two semi-final bouts of the Middleweight A-rank boxing tournament!!"

The announcer fell silent for a bit, giving the audience a chance to applaud loudly before continuing.

"Tonight, we decide which of these four brave men will advance to the finals where they will fight for the tournament's prize money, the national rank of number one and most important of all: a fight with the ruling champion of the middleweight class! The first match will start momentarily, please welcome these two brave men that now move towards the ring!"

From the corner where the lights shone, Sharpener entered the hall. Immediately the audience broke loud applause, along with several shouts.

"DO IT PENCIL, GO FOR THE BELT!" "I DON'T CARE HOW, JUST KO THE DAMN BASTARD!" "KILL HIM! SHOW YOUR SUPERIORITY!"

"Entering the hall first, under heavy applause from the crowd, is the nation's new boxing hope! Hailing from the amateur department, this young man has entered the Pro circuit as soon as possible and in the last year advanced himself spectacularly. He now holds the title of All-Japan Rookie King, he conquered two matches before joining this A-class tournament. With a record of 9 matches, 9 wins, 7 KO's he is an undefeated, unmatched technical boxer considered the best talent that Japan has created in almost two decades. Trained in the boxing gym of Orange Star High weighing in at 70.5 kilograms, currently ranked sixth in the nation: SHARPENER PENCIIIIIIL!"

As Sharpener entered, his arms raised above his head in greeting to the crowd, the entire hallway applauded loudly again, but the lights change to the other entry-hall.

"And entering from the other corner is Pencil's opponent. With a record of 12 matches, 10 wins, 9 KO's almost all of his matches have ended with a KO. His defense is top-rate, and his pride is his endurance to attacks. Rank four of Japan, from Satan Boxing Gym, weighing in at 72.0 kilograms: ICHITA MIYAROU!"

As Ichita entered the hall, he too was greeted with a lot of applause and shouts from his fans.

"DON'T LOSE TO THIS PRETTY-BOY!" "HE'S A WUSS, JUST CLOBBER HIM GOOD!" "SHOW HIM THE STRENGTH OF THE SATAN GYMS!"

"Wow, he's in your gym?" Gohan asked with surprise as he turned to Videl. "You never said that, no wonder he's popular if he's trained by your father."

"Not quite." Videl said with a sigh. '_Really, sometimes this guy is just too naive._'

"My dad has started various schools of fighting, covering just about any none-weapons form of fighting. Those schools are gathered around the world and are one of the main sources of our income. They're also linked to the Satan Foundation, which gives funds to sporting activities. With that talented people with no money can have a go at their sport anyway, even if it's not fighting. Or a sporting area can be built in an area where the people don't have one, so they can do sports if they want to. Good luck finding a gym or sport area in this nation that isn't linked to my father's foundation."

"Really? I didn't know that. I mean I knew about the Satan Foundation and that it existed to give people around the world a chance to try sports, no mater where they come from, but I didn't know about them actually supporting entire gyms and dojo's and stuff." Gohan admitted. '_I guess Hercule really must have done a lot for sports in general ever since the Cell Games. He really is more then a big mouth show-off…_'

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, your attention on the ring please, as this duel begins. Don't remove your eyes from this match, it promises to be a match that will boil your blood!" the announcer's voice sounded from the boxes again.

In the ring, Sharpener and Miyarou gathered in the centre, sizing each other up for a bit before returning to their corners.

'Hmm. Sharpener's got the advantage of his height, he's at least fifteen centimeters taller than his opponent.' Gohan thought, his mind already spinning in analyses. Without even knowing it, his habit of resting his head on one of his fists activated.

'_Judging from their muscles, Sharpener will be more agile, but Miyarou will be able to absorb a lot of hits by using his legs as springs. That still doesn't tell me anything I didn't know, but… the muscle mass on their shoulders and back… compared to Miyarou, it really looks like Sharpener has almost no muscles on his arms._'

-ding-

As soon as the gong ringed, Sharpener moved away from his corner, while Miyarou dashed at him with full force. Sending out a barrage of jabs with his lefts, Sharpener tried to gain some distance and keep the pace, but Miyarou moved through them as if he didn't even feel them. As soon as he closed the range, Miyarou send out jabs of his own, but Sharpener's feet were too fast; he had moved aside with great ease and was now sending out jabs from Miyarou's left side, to the face.

"And an explosive opening to this match! Miyarou steps out aggressively, attempting to take the pace, but Pencil shows his incredible footwork and easily prevents it. He rains down the jabs with practiced ease. How will Miyarou stop Pencil from evading his attacks?"

Again Miyarou didn't seem to feel the jabs at all, instead simply turning and rushing again. This time Sharpener moved to Miyarou's right, sending out jabs to the head all the while. As soon as Sharpener had stepped, however, Miyarou had send out his right in a hook to catch Sharpener.

"Ooh, and Pencil makes a dangerous maneuver, straight into the range if Miyarou's right! Will this be a chance for Miyarou to chance the – NO! Pencil brilliantly ducks under the hook and counterattacks Miyarou's body with his right! This is the first clean hit of the match and it's one that counts!"

But Miyarou only flinched for a second, and then pushed Sharpener towards the rope with his shoulder. He followed up with an upper from his left, aimed at Sharpener's chin, but like his previous attacks, the blond had already sidestepped. Again and again his left shot out, placing jabs all over Miyarou's face, but the smaller man didn't seem to care; he kept charging and pushing Sharpener into the ropes or corners. And every time Sharpener escaped without getting hit, landing numerous jabs and the occasional right on his opponent.

-ding-

"And there goes the gong! The first round is over, and Pencil has definitely dominated this round! Miyarou took a lot of hits, but his trademark resilience is showing! He walks towards his corner with no apparent problems."

"Well Gohan, did you get enough data for a good analyses yet?" Erasa asked with interest. Videl also leaned closer, attempting to hear Gohan's answer over the crowd's cheering.

"Yeah I did. I don't think Sharpener will get a KO win here. In fact, he might even lose." The black-haired boy said, to the shock of both girls.

"Why do you think that? Sharpy's totally won this round!" Erasa said.

"Yeah, he was leading this round for sure." Gohan admitted. "But he landed numerous hits on Miyarou and Miyarou didn't even look exhausted. He charged through every one of Sharpener's hits, except for the right-handed counter body blow. But from the looks of it, if he gets one or two good hits in with his right he'll be able to slow Sharpener down significantly and win this fight. Sharpener was easily evading his attacks this round, but the question is how long he can hold it up. His punches don't have enough power to KO this guy, it will be a full 6 rounds of evading and counterattacking."

"Wait a second, if Sharpy keeps counter-attacking him, won't he'll deal double the damage? Wasn't that how counters work?" Erasa asked. It was Videl, who understood what Gohan had meant, that answered.

"Yeah, counterattacks deal more damage because your opponent has no defenses ready and has his own weight returned with your attack power. But, performing counterattacks requires tremendous focus; it's not something you can do easily. One mistake and you're the one getting double the damage. It's one of the riskiest techniques in fighting there is."

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for round two!" the announcer said, "The last round was completely in favor of Pencil, can he keep this pace up to victory? Or will Miyarou be able to turn the tables with his powerful right? Don't move your eyes away from this fight!"

Again Miyarou rushed Sharpener and again Sharpener sidestepped with ease, maintaining enough distance between the two. Sharpener lowered his left arm, making his lower arm horizontal and started swinging it from left to right. His arm flew out quickly, smashed into Miyarou's face and returned to its former position almost instantly. Again and again Sharpener dodged the charges and punches of his opponent and rained down his Flicker Jabs, but like his normal jabs they didn't have all that much affect; Miyarou simply charged right through them and attempted to close the distance again.

"And it looks like a replay of the previous round, with Pencil easily dominating the pace. Miyarou tries to get closer, but to no avail: Pencil's feet are really alive and flying today! Just look at all those flickers he's raining down on Miyarou: there is no doubt that Pencil entered the ring in excellent condition today! This match is turning completely onesided!"

'_Maybe,_' Gohan thought as he listened to the comments of the announcer, '_but Sharpener's punches aren't hurting him at all. This could turn bad with a single hit from Miyarou._'

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for the second round. It was indeed a mirror of the first round, with Pencil obviously in pure domination of the battle. Is there any way for Miyarou to take down this fast opponent?"

A minute later, the gong rang again, and again Miyarou dashed out. This time, instead of backing away, Sharpener hit him straight on with a strange right punch: he had turned, from the tip of his toes to his fist, his entire body, resulting in a strange spin on his fist. He hitted the charging Miyarou straight on in the face and for the first time, the shorter man backed of in pain.

"Ooh! Pencil performs a perfect Corkscrew Blow to counter Miyarou's charge! This will hurt Miyarou, can he keep going with this damage? Or will Pencil win the match in this round?"

With Miyarou stepped back, Sharpener stepped forward, shifting his weight to the front of his feet. He sent out right and left hooks quickly, each one aimed for Miyarou's head. With his weight now behind the punches, it seemed that for the first time Sharpener's punches were really hurting Miyarou. But like before, Miyarou managed to push through Sharpener's barrage and attempted a jab of his own.

"And Miyarou attempts to counter Pencil's charge, will it work? No! Pencil quickly moves away from Miyarou's preferred range and creates a gap of distance between the two again."

Sharpener started jabbing again, his arm back to the normal position. But now he punched several times, mixing in hooks, jabs and uppers with his punches, before retracting his arm again.

"Ooh! And Pencil uses yet another high-level boxing jab! This time, it's the Swallow! Can the charging Miyarou do anything against this move that was designed to stop bull-charges?"

But again, Miyarou didn't even try to evade the Swallow-jabs. Instead he covered his head with his arms and rushed forward again. but again and again Sharpener managed to evade him before he even got close.

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for the third round. Pencil has yet to take a hit, showing his incredible level of concentration. He had some really good hits on Miyarou in this round, will the damage carry over to the next round?"

-ding-

But in the next round Miyarou still didn't show any damage. This time, Sharpener used yet anther jab, his left lower arm spinning while jabbing, something the announcer had caller 'the Bullet,' but still to no avail.

-ding-

Another break, but still Gohan could see no sign of damage to Miyarou's body. There was a slight dragging of his feet, but nothing besides that. Still Sharpener was not hit or hurt at all, although he was beginning to show frustration on his face.

-ding-

As the fifth round started, Miyarou went for a different approach at last. Instead of charging at Sharpener, he slowly stepped forward, attempting to pressure him into a corner. But Sharpener didn't give in to the pressure, instead keeping up a constant barrage of jabs onto the tight guard. When that didn't work, he moved stepped in with a punch mid-way between a hook and a jab, which the announcer called 'the Smash.'

The Smash moved right trough Miyarou's block, allowing Sharpener to follow up with his right for a straight to the face. But that was obviously the chance Miyarou was waiting for; the moment Sharpener closed in, he gave a powerful hook to the body with his right.

"OOH! This can be the turnaround that Miyarou has been waiting for the entire match! Can he stop Pencil's legs with his powerful right? NO! Pencil takes the right and backs off! Miyarou may have just lost his one chance for victory!"

A millisecond before Miyarou's punch had hit Sharpener's body, the blond had increased the tension in his abdominal muscles. He slowed down a bit, but there was no real damage done.

Just as Miyarou attempted to charge again Sharpener sent out another Corkscrew Blow; this time Miyarou was ready for it and blocked the punch. He rushed through, but Sharpener was already moving away, firing jab after jab.

-ding-

"And there goes the gong for the fifth round. This match has made it all the way to the final round without a single down! But it could not be clearer that Pencil is in an obvious point-lead. Miyarou's only chance for victory right now is a KO, but can he close down on this incredibly fast-moving opponent?"

-ding-

Just like the five rounds before, the sixth round was nothing but Miyarou desperately attempting to rush Sharpener into a corner, while Sharpener calmly maintained his distance and fired jab after jab. He had returned to using his normal jabs this round, mixed up with the occasional one-two when he could. But neither fighter could land any finishing blows until, finally, the last gong sounded,

-ding- -ding- -ding-

"And with that, this match is over. Please wait a few moments while the referee's conclude the points for this long match."

"Ah man…" Videl said as she sat down. She had been shouting encouragements and advice to Sharpener every chance possible, just like everyone else in the hall, but this was the first time she spoke up to the others. "I was hoping he would win with KO. Those are the only real wins in my book."

"Yeah, it's too bad he didn't; he was so looking forward to a KO." Erasa agreed. Like Videl, she too had been shouting out at her long-time friend. In fact, it seemed like Gohan was the only one in the hall that managed to keep his reserve and didn't shout or stand up during the match.

"Wait a second…" Erasa suddenly said, looking at Gohan. "You were right! Everything went like you said it would! Sharpy didn't get a KO, he'll win by points and he hardly ever landed any clean hits and only got hit once."

Videl looked from Erasa to Gohan, realizing that the blonde was right, but before she could speak up the ring announcer's voice echoed through the hall.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We will now give you the final score of tonight's fight. Winner, by judge decision… from Orange Star High Gym… Sharpener Pencil!" instantly the crowd broke into applause and after a second the announcer continued.

"And Ichita Miyarou leaves the ring in defeat, but he has shown us a good fight. His resilience to attacks and spirit were truly frightening, taking so many hits and never once taking a down. We look forward to his next match. And the winner of tonight, Sharpener Pencil, leaves the arena with the cheers from his fans sounding through the hall. He will advance to the finals and face the winner of this next match there."

"Come on, let's go speak to him." Erasa said as she stood up, dragging Gohan with her. Videl quickly followed suit, and the trio left the boxing hall to go to the changing room and congratulate their friend on a fight well fought.

* * *

A/N: my apologies to anyone who reads this and has actual knowledge of boxing if I made any mistakes. My only knowledge about boxing is from the anime/manga series Hajime no Ippo (also known as Fighting Spirit) and I'll base a lot of the boxing in this story on the matches there.

Many thanks to Zephyr-Tai-Ji and mirrors of illusion for helping out with the beta of this chapter.

As always, please review and tell me what you think.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I am the proud owner of absolutely nothing. I am borrowing some characters from the series know as DBZ for some fun, nothing more.

* * *

As the trio entered Sharpener's waiting room there was already a variation of other people inside. Some people were waiting with cameras and other equipment, while some of the fighters from previous matches were still hanging around.

As soon as Videl entered though, the crowd parted and allowed her to easily reach Sharpener. Gohan and Erasa quickly followed her, standing before Sharpener. The blond in question was sitting in a chair, relaxing a bit before he got changed. As they neared him, he looked up but didn't say anything. It was Videl that broke the silence, grinning while she talked.

"Hey Mr. Bigshot. What happened to your KO prediction? I almost fell asleep, it was too boring."

"Ok, I underestimated him ok." Sharpener admitted as he swatted her off. "He was a lot tougher then I thought he'd be. Now buzz off."

"Ooh, lookie V." Erasa suddenly said, moving to Sharpener's shoulder as she teased him as well. "The great boxer is annoyed by our presence. And we came all this way to congratulate you too."

"Whatever. Congratulations accepted and now get out of here." Sharpener said, heavily annoyed.

"Relax Sharpy." Videl said, no longer joking around. "What's gotten your panties in a twist? We're just messing with you."

Sharpener looked at them for a second and then seemed to deflate in his chair.

"I'm sorry guys. I was really tensed up for this fight and I really wanted to KO him, but this was just stupid. It was like hitting a sandbag and nothing more. I didn't lose any of my frustrations at all."

"Well, at any rate." Erasa said, trying to cheer Sharpener up again, "Congratulations on your victory. Only two more wins and you're the champ!"

"Yeah." Sharpener said, but there was hardly any enthusiasm behind it.

"Yeah, congratulations on a fight well fought." Videl added. She looked expectantly at Gohan, who took the clue for once and stepped up as well.

"Yeah, you did will. Congratulations on your victory." He said. Sharpener looked him in the eye, but didn't say anything. Again it was Erasa that spoke up first.

"Oh, by the way Sharpy, you should definitely hear this!" she said, "Right after your first round, Gohan predicted that you'd win with points and you'd hardly ever get hit in the entire fight! Can you believe it? He was completely right too!"

"You made such a prediction?" Sharpener asked in surprise, before letting out a rough and fake laugh. "Guess I looked that terrible huh?"

"No you didn't –" Gohan started, but someone else suddenly spoke up, interrupting him.

"Yes you were." A rough voice sounded from behind the group of teenagers. "That was hardly a fight; all you did was run away and swat some flies on his face. You know I can't broadcast that on national television and expect any ratings. When are you going to have a real fight boy?"

Gohan turned around and looked at the man who had spoken. It was a man in his late thirties or early forties, with graying blond hair. He was already growing bald and there was nothing but a line of hair around his head left, leaving the top of his head almost shining. He wore a polo shirt and jeans, but the way he carried himself revealed to Gohan that this was no ordinary man. He was a man who was obviously used to power.

"Like I care about your ratings Old Man." Sharpener bit back, venom in his voice. "Why are you here anyway? Is that the only thing you came here to do? Tell me how disappointed you are with me, again?"

"Is it so wrong for a father to watch his only son in a sport competition?" the man replied.

"If all you do is bitch about it, just send a cameraman and stay the hell away." Sharpener spat out.

For a second there was silence in the room, everyone looked at the two figures. Videl and Erasa looked like they were expecting this, if only a bit worried about how far it would go. Gohan however looked completely stunned and dumbfound by the events.

'_How can he talk to his father like that?_' he thought with amazement. '_How can he be so rude to his own father?_'

Apparently Sharpener's father admitted defeat, because he suddenly seemed to deflate in much the same manner as his son had minutes ago.

"Very well. I hope that your next match is a bit more exiting than this one, a match so one-sided and unexciting will only lose you your fans." He turned away from Sharpener but stopped when he saw the trio of friends standing. He stepped forward, extending a hand towards them.

Erasa glanced towards Sharpener for a second and, seeing him give a miniscule nod, she stepped forward and embraced him in a hug. After she let go Videl stepped forward and shook his hand with a smile. He glanced at Gohan, stepped forward and introduced himself.

"I believe we haven't been introduced yet, although I've heard a bit about you. I'm sorry we are introduced while I'm on such bad terms with my son, but I would like to know a bit more about you. I am Sharpener's father, Parer Pencil, head director of STV. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure is all mine." Gohan replied, shaking the hand of Mr Pencil, "I'm Gohan Son, student at Orange Star High."

"I happen to have overheard what Erasa said to Sharpener, about you predicting the match. How were you able to predict it so clearly?" he inquired. Gohan was about to answer when Sharpener stepped forward and pushed his father away.

"Don't you have to go and do your work? Now get out of here old man. You've done your bitching and complaining so leave me alone to go home. You got what you came for, a boxing match and an interview with the winner."

"Yes, that I've got. Even if it was such a bad match, we'll have to rely on the other message that will be aired right after your match to get any real ratings." He said, smiling at himself.

"What message would that be, sir?" Erasa asked with interest.

"My dear girl, how many times must I ask you to drop the formalities? I've known you for over fourteen years now, there's no reason to act like we're still strangers. But, to answer your question: We've finally finished with all the preparations for our interview with the Great Saiyaman. The date will be announced right after your match on TV tonight."

"Wow, really?" Gohan said, "When is it?"

"It was decided that we'll have a Live Broadcast with our interview three weeks from now on Saturday, starting at eight a clock in the evening. Good evening to you all."

Gohan, Videl and Erasa wished him a good evening, but Sharpener did nothing but glare at the back of his father as he left. Almost as soon as the door closed, Videl and Erasa turned to look at Sharpener to see how he was doing. After a few seconds, Sharpener looked up into Gohan's eyes, standing up from his chair.

"Sorry 'bout that." he said, "But as you just saw, my old man and I don't really get along."

"Yeah I saw." Gohan replied, still surprised. "Won't you get in trouble when you get back home?"

"No, I don't live with my parents anymore." Sharpener answered. Seeing the sudden shock on Gohan's face, he continued. "Ever since I learned to think for myself instead of blindly do what adults asked of me, my dad and I have been having disagreements about everything. I went boxing; he wanted me to do a team-sport. We always fought over everything and I finally got pretty sick of it. Three years ago I moved out and started living with my uncle, Stylo. He's my dad's brother, but we always got along pretty good. I stayed with them for about half a year, and then I had a job and enough money to live on my own. I see my old man every once in a while, but it always ends up with the two of us fighting."

"Right. Sorry to hear that things are going so bad between the two of you then. But he seemed like a nice enough guy to me." Gohan said, wondering.

"Yeah, he's nice enough to people, but the thing is that to me he's pretty demanding. He wants me to do everything that he wants. And that didn't sit well with me so I left."

Silence fell as the clock struck and announced the passing of another hour. For a minute Sharpener didn't say anything more, thinking deeply, before he addressed Gohan again.

"Hey Nerd-boy, if you leave now you'll be home pretty late right? How about you stay over at my place and leave tomorrow morning or afternoon?"

XxX

The following evening, back home in his own bed, Gohan lay down and thought about what happened. At first his thoughts were about the strange relationship between Sharpener and his father.

'_If dad didn't die, would I have ended up like that? Would we have ended up fighting each other all the time and would I leave the house as well?_' he thought. He never had any male, human friends his own age so he didn't know anything about the relationship boys had with their fathers.

'_I don't think so… and I certainly hope not._' He concluded. As he thought more on the matter he realized that he knew almost nothing about the relationship that his friends had with their parents.

'_Videl is easy enough, because the whole world knows it. Her father is protective and supportive of her, but I don't know what happened to her mom. Sharpener can't get along with his father, but he never mentioned his mother either. And all I know about Erasa's parents is from the one time I briefly saw them after the whole kidnap ordeal._' The sudden realization, that he lacked the knowledge of the parents and pasts of his friends, made Gohan feel oddly empty, almost like he hardly knew them at all.

'_But,_' he realized after a minute more thinking, '_they don't know anything about my parents either. We've known each other for over three months now, spend five days a week with each other, and a couple of days off, and I still no so little about them. But I've also been guarding most of my past from them… maybe I should open up to them a bit more._'

After he had phoned his mother to tell her of Sharpener's offer to stay the night, Chichi had been nearly ecstatic. Even when Gohan had told her that he'd be staying at a guy's house and no girls would be present, fearing that she would start another of her grandchildren scheme's, she said that it wasn't what she had thought at all. She was just happy that he was finally spending some time with people his own age again, especially if he could become good friends with another boy.

Suddenly Chichi yelled from below, startling Gohan out of his thoughts.

"Gohan! Goten! Dinner!"

Within an instant, running at the highest speed he could without tearing the house apart, Gohan was seated right next to Goten and both boys wasted no time digging in.

After his twelfth bowl of rice and chicken, however, another thought struck him. The sudden realization made him slow down on his eating, which didn't go unnoticed by Chi-chi. After she finished her second bowl of rice, she put down her chopsticks and waited. After three more minutes, when Gohan still hadn't finished his fourteenth bowl of rice while normally he was nearing twenty-five by then, she finally spoke up.

"What's wrong Gohan? You seem kind of distracted." Both of her sons looked up at her face. Goten slowed down on his twentieth bowl but didn't stop, while Gohan laid down his chopsticks, swallowed his food and spoke up.

"Well, the thing is… it's about that interview that I'm going to have in a few weeks, as Saiyaman. And… and I don't have any idea about what'll happen or what I'm supposed to say or anything like that. I'm worried I might mess up."

At the worries that Gohan suddenly showed, Goten stopped eating, looked at his brother with concern and simply said,

"Don't worry big brother. You can't mess anything up even if you tried."

Gohan looked at his brother for a second, wishing everything were as simply as that, but didn't say anything. Instead he ruffled his hair up a bit while speaking.

"Thanks Squirt. But I think this'll be a little tougher then that. It's unlike anything I've ever done and it's a whole different kind of fight then what I'm used too."

Goten looked at him with a questioning look, but didn't inquire further. Finally Chichi spoke up.

"Maybe Goten is right." She said. "You have to relax and be confident you can do this. After all, it isn't really YOU that's sitting there, its Saiyaman isn't it? And besides, it's not like you can prepare for it, because you don't know the questions they'll ask you, so just think of what it is you want to say and make sure you say that. It's not like you can really mess it up, no-one really knows the Great Saiyaman, that's why they want this interview in the first place."

"Hmm…I guess you're right mom. Thanks." With his mind a little more at ease, Gohan continued his assault on his dinner, quickly finishing his remaining ten bowls before excusing himself.

As he lay down on his bed, he thought back to his mother's words about the interview.

'_Well, I know one question that's sure to come._' He thought bitterly, '_they'll want to know why I didn't interfere at the hostage situation. At least I can answer honestly that I was afraid that I couldn't interfere without anyone getting hurt… but I can't help but wonder about what other questions they'll ask._'

And so, thinking about the interview three weeks away, Gohan fell into an uneasy sleep.

XxX

"Aah man, I can't wait for tomorrow." Said Tony, who was sitting just behind Gohan. He was speaking to Anton, his neighbor and one of his best friends, and like everyone else in the school, all they were talking about was the interview with Saiyaman that was planned for tomorrow.

The message for the time and date had been repeated multiple times a day ever since it was set, but as always Saiyaman was impossible to reach so no-one knew if he would really come or not. But then again, lately it was already becoming more uncommon to see the Great Saiyaman in action. He still flew around and made sure everyone knew he was around, but there was hardly any chance for him to actually do anything.

"Do you really think he'll show up? We never heard anything from him after." Anton replied, anxiously. "It would be awesome if he did though, we could really learn a lot of things about him. And hell, maybe he even has a couple of cool quotes like in those superhero movies and comics. He hardly stays long enough to make any statements after his rescues."

"Which is why everyone is so looking forward to the interview!" Tony concluded. "I mean, we know nothing about him, or why he's saving everyone. We don't even know how he knows there's trouble somewhere. And personally I'd like to know what those powers of his are and where he got them."

"Yeah definitely." Anton agreed. "Hey, which of Saiyaman's powers would you like to have best if you could have one?" he suddenly asked. Tony took a second to think before he gave his answer.

"Probably his flying. It would reduce the pain of always having to take the bus to school, and you'd certainly not have traffic problems up there. You?"

"I'd say his toughness. I mean, nothing can hurt him! Remember that one time that the major was held hostage, two weeks after he arrived? One of the guys who did that fired a rocket at him and it did nothing! Toughness like that would be seriously cool!"

"Mr. Garland!" the teacher suddenly shouted, "Do you and Mr Curtis have anything you wish to say to the class? Please, if you've made a discovery, don't keep it a secret." The Biology teacher, despite being one of the younger teachers at age 29, was a stern woman that did not tolerate distractions in her classes.

"No ma'am." Tony quickly said, his face glowing up. "Anton and I were just thinking about the interview tomorrow. We'll get back to our work now."

"Please do." The teacher said, before addressing the class. "Now I know that the interview with Saiyaman is fascinating, and this is the last class of the day, but could you please wait until it is over before you let your fantasies take control over what will be heard tomorrow. Carry on."

Silence reined the class for a few seconds, but again slivers of conversation broke out.

"Oh man, everyone's talking about the interview aren't they?" Videl finally said in annoyance. Because of all the chatter, and none of it mattered to the class' subject, she couldn't focus on her work.

"Well, you can't blame them V. and don't act like you're not looking forward to it!" Erasa warned with a wink. "So, how about it guys? Are we going to get together to watch the interview together? How about my place, at around four? Then we can get something to eat and stuff. We'll make it a fun night."

"Yeah sure, lemme tell my dad that I'll be staying the weekend with you then." Videl said. Sharpener was checking his agenda for a bit before answering, but it didn't take more then a few seconds.

"Well I've got work this afternoon and a full shift tomorrow, so I won't be around until somewhere near seven I think. That ok with you guys?"

Meanwhile, Gohan's considerable intellect was working at top speed to find a way out of the arrangement without being rude, rousing suspicion or lying. Any of the three would mean big trouble for him.

'_Maybe I can use Sharpener's excuse for work._' He thought, '_after all, being Saiyaman is somewhat like a job. Please, make this work…_'

"Ehm, I'm sorry, but I can't make it tomorrow. I have a double shift at my work, so I'll be there all day long. Sorry about that, guys." He apologized.

"Aah, damnit. You're going to leave me alone with those two? They're going to tease and taunt me to death man! I need your support here." He mock-begged, grabbing Gohan's shirt as he continued the act. "You must have noticed how they always team up on me whenever they have a chance. I have to have you around here to divert their attention from me!"

"MR PENCIL!"

* * *

A/N:

Next chapter, the interview with Saiyaman. Sorry that this chapter was a bit shorter and slow, but I wanted this chapter to focus on the relationships between the main four characters.

Thanks to my beta Kushin eX as always and please leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapter.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ universe or anything belonging from it. I am responsible for the incredible sucky-ness of the interview in this chapter and I'll apologize beforehand with how bad it turned out.

* * *

-knock- -knock-

The Great Saiyaman turned around, startled, as someone knocked on his door. He had arrived an hour earlier, far too early for the show to start, and he had been appointed a private changing room. Of course, they hadn't believed him to be the real one until he floated in through a window, but after that no-one had disturbed him. But as a result he had only become more and more nervous as time passed.

"Come in please."

A young man, even more nervous then the Superhero, put his head in the room and started talking.

"Eehm-eh-uhm Mr. Saiyaman, sir." he said, almost shaking. "T-th-the show i-is a-a-about to start in, in about f-f-fifteen m-m-minutes. W-would you l-like s-s-s-something to d-d-drink or eat or something? I-is there any-anything at all- that we- I mean I can do for you, sir?"

"No, thank you my good man, I am perfectly fine." he answered. "And thank you for the warning. How much longer until I have to enter the show?"

"E-e-ehm, if you c-could follow me i-in about ten minutes w-we'll go the studio. I'll come and pick you up when w-we're expecting you."

"Yes, please do."

"Now, pl-please excuse me."

With that the studio assistant left the changing room, leaving the Great Saiyaman alone with his thoughts again.

'_Ten minutes remaining… my first ever interview and it's going to be an international life show…I can't stop shaking…_'

XxX

"Come on Sharpy, it's going to start!" Erasa shouted into the hallway. It was two minutes to eight and, off all the times, Sharpener had just gone to the toilet.

"Let him be Erasa. They'll probably spend the first ten minutes introducing themselves and their sponsors; he's not going to miss much."

"Yeah I know, but what's taking him so long? SHARPY!"

"SHUT UP ERASA! I'M TAKING A CRAP HERE AND THE MORE YOU SHOUT THE LONGER IT'LL TAKE!" the very annoyed voice came from the bathroom next to Erasa's room.

Back in the room Videl nearly choked on her coke, while Erasa was sure she could hear her father laughing downstairs. She felt her head go a bit red before shouting back at her muscular friend.

"You don't have to yell like that, and we don't have to have all the information on what you're doing in there. Just hurry up will you!"

As she turned into her room she saw Videl grinning at her, amusement in her eyes as her best friends, or at least two of her best friends, were arguing again like always. Erasa, in mock frustration, grabbed her hair.

"Men! Why can't they be a bit more civilized? They're all little kids."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Videl answered with a laugh.

"I HEARD THAT!" Sharpener shouted from the bathroom.

"Oops." In an almost perfect imitation of Gohan, Erasa scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment. "Guess that was a little too loud."

"Shh!" Videl suddenly said, turning to the television. "It's starting!"

"Oh right!" Erasa quickly jumped on her bed, moved to sit next to Videl and shouted again.

"SHARPY! IT'S STARTING!"

"Thanks for the warning." Videl muttered sarcastically as she put a finger in her ear.

XxX

"Welcome ladies and gentleman, boys and girls and all other viewers, to this unique special of STV. I am Yuuki Sena, special reporter for STV and I have been granted the immense honor of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview Satan City's very own Superhero. Ladies and Gentleman, let's hear it for the Great Saiyaman!"

The audience gathered for the special show, most of them very well known, rich, influential or a combination of those factors, burst into applause. Feeling his nerves more then ever before, Saiyaman floated an inch or so above the ground, an idea from the director of the show to ensure that everyone knew he was the real thing, and slowly floated into the studio.

As he neared his seat, he touched down on the ground again, shook hands with the female reporter and sat down.

"First off, welcome here Saiyaman." She said as she herself sat down again. "And thank you for allowing us to take this interview. I must say that I'm feeling very excited about this, because I'm a fan. I just love everything you've managed to do in the short time you've been around the city. Of course we won't ask you any questions that could relate to your identity, but know that at any time you can simply tell me if you don't want to answer a question and we'll move on to the next one."

"Yes of course." Saiyaman answered, surprised to hear that this woman was actually a fan. "I'll answer the questions to the best of my ability. Although, of course, there are some questions I can't answer."

"Yes I understand." Yuuki said, crossing her legs and leaning forward a bit. "Shall we begin then?"

"Yes, let's." Saiyaman said.

"Now as you know, we had given people the opportunity to send us the questions they'd like to have answered concerning you and we've selected the most asked questions for this interview. Except of course for the question 'Who are you underneath that mask?' and similar questions. Now for the first and most asked question: What is the secret behind your powers? Everyone in Satan City knows that you're trademark abilities are super strength, flight and super speed, but how do you have these abilities?"

After taking a deep breath, Saiyaman started answering the question. It was one of the few questions he and Bulma, because she was the only one he knew that had experience with international interviews, had agreed would certainly be asked and they had prepared an answer.

"Yes, my powers are all the effect of special trainings I've undergone."

Yuuki leaned in a bit closer, looking very interested as she urged Saiyaman to continue.

"So if it is possible to gain these powers by training, would anyone be able to use it? Would I be able to fly for example?"

"Ehm, yes I suppose you could. But the training is only given to a select few individuals. Even I don't know everyone who can use these abilities. They're kept a secret for obvious reasons."

"Yes, of course I understand." Yuuki quickly said, "If everyone would be as strong as you then there would be no possibility of keeping order and safety around. But what do you think of the general explanation for abilities like yours? It is a theory that most people believe in, since the Cell Games seven years ago; they think that your powers and flying, and the ability to cause explosions with their bare hands as demonstrated at the Cell Games, are magic tricks. What do you think of those arguments?"

"Aah, yes… well I think that the explanation that most people belief is not that far off from the truth. And it is the most likely thing, since a lot of people won't ever be able to do something like this. It looks more like a magic trick then anything else so I can understand."

Yuuki was surprised by his mild surprise, but regained herself after a second or so and leaned forward again as she continued to the next question.

"So, a second question we have is another one that has been burning in everyone's mind for the past few weeks: Why did you, the city's strongest hero, intervene at the infamous hostage taking a few weeks ago, when Orange Star High was taken over?"

XxX

"Can you believe her? She's hitting on him like there's no tomorrow!" Videl said with annoyance as she watched the idol-turned-reporter continue leaning in and showing the masked hero, or attempting at the least, to show him her cleavage.

"Hey Vi, it sounds like you're jealous. Is she trying to steal your guy or something?" Sharpener said, pricking the crime fighter in the ribs with his finger. Erasa quickly caught on and made it even worse.

"Oh no Sharpy, you know Videl would never fall for someone like Saiyaman." For a second Videl looked relieved, but then the blond continued. "We know she really has the hots for Gohan."

"Wha…" Videl almost dropped her glass in surprise at the random statement. Sure Gohan wasn't bad looking, quite the opposite in fact, and he was a nice guy, but she didn't like him.

"Gohan? What're you going on about? I don't have the hots for him! He's a nice guy but that's all he is." She turned her head away, wanting to end the teasing, but the blondes didn't give up that easily.

"That proves it!" Erasa exclaimed, pointing at Videl as if she had given up a critical piece of advice in a murder-case. "You NEVER say a guy is nice Vi, that proves you like him! Admit it!"

"I don't! And stop sugg- wait did she just mention the hostage thing?"

"I think she did." Sharpener said. As one, the three teenagers turned back to the TV to pay more attention to the interview.

'_I've been wanting an answer to this myself for a while now. Let's hear it._' Videl thought as she drained her glass of coke.

XxX

"Aahm, yes… about that…" the Great Saiyaman stammered, thinking about how he could best word the answer. "Well, the answer is probably a very predictable and over-used one to be honest ma'am." He finally said. "I was scared that, if I interfered I would not be able to ensure that everyone involved would get out unharmed."

"What?" Yuuki said, again surprised by the answer. "But surely, with your powers, you could have stopped everything that happened a lot sooner?"

"Yes, maybe I could have." Saiyaman replied. "But I feared that if I had acted, I would not be fast enough to save everyone. I don't want people to get hurt by my actions. And I know that, because of my in-action two people died that night and many more were probably scared for life, something that I will always regret. But if I had appeared at the wrong time, the hostage takers might have made rash or ill-informed actions that would have resulted in a far worse ending. I know it is a weak defense, but it is the truth."

"Yes… I see." Yuuki said, thinking for a moment before continuing again. "And what of the Commander, the person who saved Videl Satan and her friends? There are many different ideas and opinions around him and I'm curious what you thought of him."

"Aah, yes about the Commander…." Saiyaman rubbed his chin for a second, thinking before he answered. "I didn't think he was very nice and he said some nasty things about the good people at the police department, who always do the very best to ensure the safety of the city, but I don't think he's a bad person. He did whatever he could to keep casualties to a minimum from what I understand and made every possible effort to ensure none of the hostages were hurt. He did what I didn't dare do: take the risqué and infiltrate the building. I've got to give him credit for that, even if I disagree with what he said."

"So you believe that the Satan City Police Force has always been working excellently?" Yuuki enquired. For once she didn't look surprised.

"Then why do you think that lately the Police Force has been performing so much better then a few weeks before? There is no denying that after the Commander held his speech the Police Force has been working with much more vigor then ever before."

"Yes that's true, but you must not forget, Ms Sena, that there were more things happening that day then just the Commander's interview. I personally believe that the events from the entire day had shocked the police out of their routine, making them regain their focus again. Add to that the shock of a colleague being killed, the interest that the international media has held for the Satan City Police force then and, of course, the way the Commander spoke of them and anyone would continue their work with more vigor. Personally, I would like to think that is one of the reasons that the Commander said what he did."

"What do you mean?"

"The Commander said several nasty things about the police, and of course they would want to prove him wrong. I can't speak for the Commander, but I like to think he said what he did to inspire the police to work harder then ever before, and the results are easily noticed."

"Aah, I see what you mean. Yes, if that is in fact what he had intended then he's certainly reached his objective. We now have two more questions that we had selected, so let's move on before we run out of time." Yuuki, having received a signal from the director to move the conversation away from the Commander, said.

"Yes, please do. What other questions did you have?"

"I'll save my personal favorite question until the end, so here's the other one first: in your efforts to help keep Satan City safe, you've often worked together with our other world-famous crime fighter, Videl Satan. We all know Videl is a world-level martial artists and a fearless young woman, but what is your opinion of her after the many times you've worked together?"

XxX

"She did not just ask that…" Videl, dumbstruck, stared at the screen with wide eyes. "What is she thinking, asking something like that?"

"Relax Vi, it's Saiyaman she's asking." Sharpener said as he grabbed some more chips. "He won't say a bad thing about you: he can't even say anything bad about anyone. Look at what he said about the Commander and he never even met the guy in person. He'll probably praise you to the stars. Just sit tight and watch."

"Yeah, Sharpy's right Vi." Erasa added. "Saiyaman never says anything bad about someone. Or are you maybe worried about what he'll say about you, how he feels about you?" she teasingly added.

"Yeah, I think I know what Vi's worried about here." Sharpener said, acting as if he suddenly had a brilliant idea. "She's worried the tabloids will learn of her secret love for him."

For that particular teasing, Videl gave Sharpener a rather big and painful bruise on his shoulder and a nasty glare to Erasa, who had giggled at the look on Videl's face.

XxX

"About Ms. Videl hmm…" again Saiyaman was lost in his thoughts for a moment. He hadn't even thought they could maybe ask something like that. "Well, I think that Ms Videl is a very brave young woman, who takes a lot of risks to ensure other people stay safe. Besides that she's also very strong and a bit stubborn. But I know, from what she did and said, that she's a very good person."

"Anything else to add?"

"No, I think Ms Videl is a very respectable citizen of Satan City, who many people look up to and who many people look up to. She is a fine example of how one person can make a big difference and I know there are a lot of people who look up to her. And I think that Ms Videl will continue to live up to their expectations for many more years to come."

"Yes no doubt she will. Everyone in Satan City is very fond of her and we all always hope that she will make it out of every situation safely. Now, before we run out of time, here is the final question we had for you."

'Almost done, just one more question. Keep it up now.' Saiyaman thought, relief floating through his body.

"You are without a doubt the most effective crime-fighter this city has, but no-one really knows why you help the city out. So, why is it that you fight crime, why do you risk yourself to protect the citizens of this city, when you could do so much more with your powers?"

"Because I can." The answer left his mouth before he even really though about what he'd said. He quickly recovered himself and continued. "I have the abilities and powers to make a real difference, I can help people without any real danger to myself. Why should I not help them, when people require my help?"

"Of course, but often times people whom you saved wanted to reward you; why didn't you give them to chance to show their gratitude?"

"Why would I need a reward from them to know they're grateful? The feeling that I've helped someone out is enough for me. It's similar to helping an old lady cross the street: you'll be rewarded with a thank you and a smile and that's enough for me."

"Right." Yuuki nodded almost fanatically. "But what do you say about the people who claim that, with your actions, you've broken the law often yourself?"

"Perhaps I have, there are many laws and I don't know all of them, so there is a chance I've broken one or more in the past. If I have I am sorry for it and hope I have not caused any harm in doing so."

"Yes, but what will you do about such comments?"

"I won't do anything about them. I have been doing what I have done so far because I believe that what I do is the right thing to do. There are many rules, protocols and loopholes in the law, which would sometimes ask people not to do what is right."

"So you're saying the law is flawed?" Yuuki, again surprised, asked the masked man.

"No, I believe there is nothing wrong with the law as it is, but people must learn not to life blindly by following it. The law is an important way to keep order and rule in the world, but sometimes a person must rely on his own ability to judge situations and act on his morals. Sometimes, doing the right thing may not always mean doing the lawful thing. However, those who follow this idea must be careful not to be over-eager and use that explanation as actions that are completely unlawful. There must always be a balance."

"I think I understand what you mean." Yuuki said. She opened her mouth to continue, but she got a signal from the director and quickly changed her sentence.

"Well, Saiyaman, thank you for the incredible opportunity to have this conversation with you and I wish you lots of luck in your effort of cleaning our city's streets." She turned directly towards the camera before concluding the show. "Thank you for watching and I hope you all learned a lot about Satan City's very own superhero. This was Yuuki Sena, for STV. Goodnight to you all."

XxX

Two days after the interview with Saiyaman, which all of Satan City had been eagerly watching and most people had found it to be a big disappointment because they had been expecting more from the famed superhero, Hercule Satan was in his personal gym once again. With his favorite music on he was doing a relatively light training routine, just to keep in shape. After running around the inside-course for twenty minutes he did some weightlifting, bench presses and squats, and he was just about to start on bicep training when one of his butlers walked in.

"Excuse me, Master Hercule." The somewhat elderly man said. "You have a visitor."

The world champion put down the weights he was holding; turned to look at the man and thought for a second before remembering his name.

"Ok, thank you Pete. Who is it and what do they want?"

"It's Ms Bulma Briefs, she has requested a private word with both you and Ms Videl."

"Bulma huh? Can you ask her to wait for about fifteen minutes so I can take a shower? And please tell Videl as well."

"At once Sir."

Fifteen minutes later, Hercule emerged from his bathroom completely washed and in a set of decent clothes. He arrived at the room where Bulma was waiting for them, a conference room he hardly ever used, just in time to see Videl slip inside before him. He knocked, despite it being his own home, and opened the door when given permission.

'_She IS the richer person here, and its good manners to knock a door when there're ladies in the room. Never hurts to be polite with powerful people._' He reasoned.

As soon as he was seated next to Videl and opposite Bulma, who was facing the door behind the parent and his child, Hercule spoke up.

"So Bulma, what brings you here? You don't often come around for anything other then business and propositions. Is there anything I can get you to drink before we start?"

"No thanks, I'm fine Hercule. Actually there's something I have to tell you: I'm not the one who wanted to talk to you."

"What?" the black-haired muscular man said in surprise. "Then what did you ask me here for? A joke or something? If it is, I am not amused by it."

"Mrs. Briefs didn't want to talk to you, I did." A strangely cold and mechanical voice sounded from behind the two Satans. They turned around at once and, at the same time, they felt a large fury building up inside them

"YOU!" Videl shouted, pointing a shaking finger at the masked person standing next to the now closed door.

Standing there, where just a few seconds ago he had been hidden in the shadow of the door, stood a tall and intimidating person. He still had his motorcycle-like helmet on, still wore the same long trench coat, which Videl noticed had been cleaned and fixed since the last time, and on his belt there was still a large golden symbol of his organization.

There stood the Commander of the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department.

* * *

AN:

Like I said at the disclaimer, my apologies for how incredibly bad the interview went. I just couldn't get into the swing of writing things, especially since this interview wasn't a part of my original storyline (I decided to add it later, after thinking it could be used as a insight into Saiyaman's character and a stepping stone for later on. It will still serve the last purpose).

I hope the last scene (which I had planned for a while) and the intermissions with Videl, Sharpener and Erasa somewhat compensate for the interview.

While I'm ranting anyway, I will take this opportunity to say this is most likely the last of the quicker updates (1 every 2 weeks, even if this one was a bit late). My school started again and I'll be spending most of my time doing schoolwork. If I can I'll update sooner, especially since we're reaching another action part and I promise you that this time around, it will be in full DBZ-style.

Thanks to my Beta Kushin eX for beta-reading this chapter and suggesting I put in the final scene after all.

As always please review and tell me what you think of the chapter.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: still don't own the Dragonball Universe(or any variation of it).

* * *

"YOU!" Videl shouted, raising so fast that her chair fell to the ground.

"Yes me." The Commander simply stated as he started walking forward. Unlike the last time she saw him, now his boots hardly made a sound on the floor. Probably because this time he was walking on expansive carpet instead of cold stones.

"Now that we have that sorted out, be seated again and I can explain why we're here."

"You've got some nerve ya freak." Hercule said, also standing up in anger. "This is my own home, you're nothing more then an unwanted intruder here but you're thinking about ordering us around? I don't think so pall."

For a second, Videl could almost feel the mocking look from underneath the Commander's helmet, before he spoke up again. She hadn't seen the glare that Bulma gave her bodyguard.

"Yes of course, my apologies." But he didn't sound the least bit sorry. "If you would please be so kind to regain your seats, then I can tell you what I came here for and I'll be gone that much faster." The obvious sarcasm as he talked made Videl's blood boil and she was just about ready to attack him when her father raised one arm in front of her, blocking her path.

"Stay calm Videl." He whispered from the corner of his mouth before addressing the Commander. "Why are you here then? It had better be something good because you are here uninvited and I don't even want you in here."

"Hercule, please calm down. We're not here as your enemies." Bulma said. "The Commander discovered something that you should see, it's very dangerous information that could cause serious damage to you and me. That's why I convinced the Commander to come and tell you, I thought you should know."

"Fine, whatever!" Videl moodily said as she sat back in her seat, arms and legs crossed and angrily glaring at one of the walls. "Tell us what you want and then get out of here you masked moron."

"Am I on the same standing as Saiyaman now?" the Commander asked, surprising Videl with the sudden, and odd, question.

"What'd you mean?"

"When we were in the church you yelled that you were wondering where Saiyaman was when you needed him. You called him a masked moron as well." The Commander explained.

"Yeah, you probably are then. You're both masked and you both have no brains whatsoever. Now hurry it up." She angrily replied. '_How did he know I said tha- of course, the increased sound reception he told me about. Is it really that accurate?_'

"Videl, don't be like that. Even if our… guest here doesn't have any manners there's no need for you to act like that." Hercule said, carefully choosing the word to describe the Commander, who was now only a step away from the World Champion.

"I do have manners, otherwise I would have simply interrupted your dinner or walked into your gym to tell you these facts." The masked warrior interrupted.

"Then at least act like you still know your manners." Videl spat out.

"That's quite enough" Bulma said, standing up to show her own frustration at the situation.

"I know I can't order you around in your own house Videl, or you Hercule, but please calm down and listen because this is important. And you!" she added, looking at the Commander. "There's no need to behave like that, you ARE a guest here so at least be a little more polite. Now get on with it."

"Of course ma'am." The Commander courtly replied. He pulled a capsule out of his pocket, clicked the button and after the smoke had cleared a small stack of books, papers and other material lay on the large table. He started walking around, his hands clapped behind his back to make him stand even more straight then before, as he started talking.

"What I'm about to tell you is information regarding the rebellion of several of the members of my department within the Capsule Corporation, the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department, also known as the CCDD. We know that the person who was contacted was their leader, the former captain Johnson and that he led his other men to abandon our department. Naturally we started an investigation as to who hired him, how he knew of the CCDD's existence, the identity of several of the CCDD's members and how much of a threat we were dealing with."

"Glad to hear you're so worried about the people that were involved." Videl muttered as sarcastic as she could.

"It is not my job to worry about the masses, it is my job to ensure the best possible security to Capsule Corporation." The Commander simply answered before continuing.

"Our first lead was, of course, the amount of money that Johnson had received prior to the start of his whole operation. The day before he took action he had received the sum of six million Zenny on his bank account. The amount itself was broken into small amounts that were send in quick succession, none of them above twenty thousand Zenny so as to avoid attraction. And all the smaller amounts were send from different accounts, who were also used as stepping stations. All in all the money stopped at over thirty different bank accounts, before reaching what seemed like the three main money funds."

He reached down, grabbed one of the papers and gave it to Hercule. He quickly examined it, along with Videl, but couldn't really understand it. He was never into economics; he had people doing that for him.

"There were three major trust funds where the money had come from. One was the Capsule Foundation's account, another from the Satan Foundation and a third, most surprisingly, from the Behersk Building Fund. All three are very major charity foundations known throughout the world. The Satan Foundation gives everyone in the world a chance to do sports and have fun, the Capsule Foundation helps with food distributions and medical attentions and the Behersk Building Fund creates houses and other buildings around the world that are needed for the economy to grow. All in all, they receive a little over thirty thousand Zenny a day there, willingly given by people who make a donation. Around Christmas time that amount increases to near 3 billion Zenny because of the guilty feelings and additional commercials.

Since there are no large deposits made from anywhere into any of those three accounts it appears to be a dead end, with the logical conclusion that those three foundations were behind the operation."

"If this comes out…" Hercule thought, realizing the possible consequences it could have.

"Exactly." The Commander said, knowing what the champ meant. "If the masses know about this they could lose their confidence and trust in those foundations and they would lose a large part of their funding. Not to mention that their direct leaders, Hercule Satan, Bulma Briefs and Styring Behersk, would be greatly discredited."

"Ok, so we know that. What're we going to do about it huh?" Videl asked. She was interested in the information now, especially in the possible solutions that the Commander might have, but she was still angry.

"What I have just told you is what the police currently know. They finished tracing back the money two days ago and can't continue any further. They will have no choice but to make this public knowledge."

"When you say this is what the police currently knows, what do you mean?" Hercule asked cautiously.

"We already knew this information a few weeks ago, our research was going much faster then the police's. As such we have also deducted that, by checking out the donations that were made on that Monday and the days before, all three accounts have a extraordinary high amount of income. They are, combined, roughly six million Zenny over their normal budged. Someone ensured that the money needed was there and would be send on from those accounts onto Johnson's account. Whoever did this has exceptional skill with digital theft and money transfer: almost all the money came from different accounts and in such small numbers that no-one, neither the clients nor the banks, would notice the change in the total sum of money. A few cents here, a Zenny there. No-one notices."

"While you're off being impressed by potential enemies you still haven't told us anything. If you can go this far, the police can find it out as well and we won't be in any problems anymore. Is that your wondrous solution?"

"Not quite, Miss Satan. The police won't be authorized to continue the investigation further then where they are now and even if they were they would not be able to track down the source of the money. Not even we could do that. But as for my suggestion on how to deal with this, I will tell you."

He seated himself this time, carefully weighing his next words.

"Arrange for a press conference tomorrow and announce the results of this investigation before the police do. Tell the media that you have had a private investigation going on and they have received new evidence that someone has used those accounts. You will admit that something happened; that someone hacked the banks and that you will do anything within your power to fix it. By doing so you will put the police off-balance by telling them their investigation is incomplete. And assuming that the employer of Johnson and his men is watching, they will think the investigation is going far to slow, so they won't be touched. We will track them down before long and ensure no situations like this one ever occur again."

"So you're saying that we release this information before the police do?" Hercule asked. "How are you so sure that this will affect them in the way you think? For all you know they'll get too nervous and attack again."

"I doubt that, the rate at which the police investigation is going, the rate that you will indicate to be following, is almost laughingly slow. And if I was wrong and they attack again, we will get more evidence to find them. Either way we win."

"We win if they attack? What if this time around they'll send someone who has no problem killing anyone in his way?" Videl interrupted. "What if instead of just one person, the next attacker kills a dozen?"

"Then we'll have to chase our quarry al the harder, but it will not change the fact that we will gain more evidence on who they are if they attack again. You must learn, Miss Satan, that sometimes sacrifices are necessary to ensure victory. It is under that same idea that I have told you about the investigation. It would not do for the masses to lose their most looked upon ideals."

Videl, although fuming with anger, didn't reply.

"And did you tell Styring Behersk about this then? He is one of the three major corporations that you mentioned, so you'll tell him as well?"

"There is no need to." The Commander replied. "Mr. Behersk is already having an investigation of his own into the affair and he is most likely on par with my team. Perhaps even further along, I don't know. At any rate, I have told you what I have come here for. With luck we'll never meet again."

With that the Commander capsulized his stuff again, turned and waited next to the door. Bulma gave him a wave and he left, waiting outside the door instead.

"Look I'm sorry he's like that." she apologized to the two Satans. "He's a bit rough sometimes but I assure you he always tries to think of the best possible solutions to everything. He's just… afraid of getting close to people."

Without waiting for a response, Bulma stood up, smiled at the two and left. As soon as she opened the door the Commander started walking to the exit, keeping a pace she could easily keep up with.

"You know, it would be nice if you're a bit nicer to Videl. She IS only eighteen after all. And she does everything she can to protect a lot of people."

"Yes I know." the Commander replied without stopping. "But it is because of that that I must treat her like that. Her skill in combat has allowed her to remain naïve and innocent up until now. But with the level of enemy she will sooner or later encounter it is best she learns to lose her naivety now. Rather it be by my words then an enemy's fists."

"I know, but it wouldn't hurt you to be a bit nicer about it. She'll really start hating you if you keep this up."

"Let her hate me if she wants. It is only a mask that she hates. And hatred can make her stronger if guided right."

Bulma gave a deep sigh as they exited through the front door.

"Videl… Videl isn't like her you know."

"I know." the Commander replied, stopping in his tracks for a second. "But… the World isn't the same as it was back then either."

With that the Commander quickened his pace, walking past Vegeta who was waiting outside, and didn't hear Bulma's words.

"The world is still the same… you aren't."

It was only when she started walking with Vegeta that she realized something about what the masked soldier had said.

'_He never said Videl should lose her innocence._'

XxX

"You get really riled up every-time you meet with him don't you?" Erasa asked at lunchbreak. Videl had spent most of the morning telling them about the meeting that she and her father have had with the Commander last night, fuming all the while.

"Yes, he is such a complete asshole." Videl replied.

"Leaving the subject of our masked super-soldier aside, what's your dad going to do with the information he gave?" Sharpener asked, resolutely turning so he didn't have to look at Gohan devouring his fifth plate of lunch.

"He's going to follow the suggestion of the Commander." Videl admitted. "He's going to hold a press conference today, in about an hour or so, to reveal the information. Aargh, I hate this."

"What's so wrong with following the Commander's suggestion?" Gohan asked, reaching to a bottle of water to wash down his lunch.

"Everything!" Videl said. "He's such a complete asshole, he's a jerk and I hate him! I hate having to follow his suggestions."

"Ehm Videl…" Gohan carefully said. "Just because you don't like the Commander doesn't mean he's a bad person you know. His suggestions could actually be meant to ensure safety in a lot of people. I mean, he also could have not told you and your father."

"Whatever. I still hate him and I hate following his orders." Videl said, turning her head away to close the topic.

Just then the bell rang, signaling a new period. With a loud scrapping of chairs the entire student body raised themselves and moved to their classes.

They now had physics class, which pretty much had Gohan explain the subject to the group while the teacher pretended he didn't see or hear. The last three times the teacher had tried to interfere in the explanation he had challenged Gohan to tell the entire class. The boy had done so, stuttering and mumbling a bit at times, and he had done it much clearer and easier then the teacher ever could. So to avoid being ashamed again he didn't say anything about the quartet's discussions.

It was after physics that Videl suddenly addressed Erasa.

"Hey Erasa, I need to vent after everything that happened yesterday." She said, having calmed down a bit during the class. "You doing anything on Saturday?"

"Nope, I have the whole weekend off. Why?" the bubbly blond answered.

"Because we're going shopping, I need to abuse my dad's credit card." Videl said, rubbing her hands together.

A step behind them Gohan and Sharpener froze in their tracks. They turned to each other, a look of dislike on Gohan's face, one of sheer terror on Sharpener's.

"Let's slowly get out of here before they can 'ask' us to join them." Sharpener suggested.

"Yeah, back away, little by little." Gohan said. "No sudden movements or they'll notice!"

Carefully the two stepped back, and then again before turning around. Just as they were about to flee the scene two voices, far more sweet-sounding then normal, suddenly said.

"Oh Boys…"

"Crap." Sharpener cursed.

"Oh no…" Gohan moaned.

"Where do you two think you're going?" Videl asked threatening. "Anyway I know you two are free on Saturday, you said so this morning. You're coming with us, we're going to the mall."

"Not again." Sharpener complained. Standing next to him Gohan dropped his head, looking utterly defeated.

"I don't know why you two are acting so depressed." Erasa asked, before teasingly adding. "You'd think that you two would be considering yourself winners to be invited on a date by two beauties like us."

Erasa and Videl burst into giggles, while Gohan and Sharpener looked even more defeated then before.

XxX

"Hmm… it seems that their investigation is going along a bit more smoothly then I had anticipated." The shadowy figure said, sitting in the darkness of his laboratory. "But no matter. It will be a long time before their inferior biological brains can catch up to me. And I have already prepared my next plan… I will no longer rely on mere humans; it is time that my beauties take care of this. They will succeed where no human could."

With that he stood up, floated over to where numerous pods, baring a different number each, were standing against the wall. Reaching one of them he started carefully, lovingly, stroking the cold metal.

"Soon… you will give me my revenge. And after my revenge is completed I can finally leave my weakness, my humanity, behind and fully ascend to being as perfect as all of you. And then… then the humans will finally be eradicated and we will take what is ours once and for all. Without those weak fools around, we will have a perfect world."

Again he floated away, landing near his computer again. The wires connected with him, allowing him to control the computer with nothing but his thoughts.

"Soon… very soon we will strike. And when we do, his child will mourn the very day that the father was born." The mad figure broke out into deranged laughter again, but no one and nothing answered or reacted to his laughter.

XxX

Saturday afternoon found Gohan and Sharpener; both were loaded with bags, sitting inside a clothing shop, much to their loathing. Even worse, it was a female clothing shop. Erasa and Videl were both changing clothes and they would pop out every ten to twenty minutes, ask the opinion of the boys, give themselves a critical look and then go back into the changing room to try something else on.

Videl walked out of the changing room, wearing a dress that was clearly meant to emphasize her legs because it had a long slit in the side. Sharpener, barely looking at all, simply said that it looked good on her. He said that with all the dresses, pants, jeans, shoes, shirts, jackets and everything else the two girls would try.

Gohan, having tried to give a serious opinion the first twelve times, had also adapted his strategy. The girls didn't really listen to their opinion anyway: they mostly judged it themselves before trying something new on. Although he had to admit that some of those outfits made Videl and Erasa seem very different. He didn't really know how he was feeling, but some of those dresses got a strange reaction out of him. This was one of them.

As Videl went back into the boot Sharpener noticed Gohan's shift in attention. Leaning over a bit, so the girls wouldn't hear it, he started whispering into Gohan's ear.

"You like Videl's legs?" Gohan was surprised by the sudden question, but Sharpener continued without waiting for an answer. "Don't blame you either. Videl has a very nice set of legs, even if they are a bit muscular. I personally prefer the less muscular legs."

Again, Gohan wasn't sure how to respond but he didn't have too. At that moment Erasa walked out in a small top. It didn't reach her bellybutton, and had a V-neck, leaving nothing to the imagination. Again Gohan felt that strange feeling. He gave the same opinion as Sharpener, 'looks good,' and a minute later Erasa went into the boot again.

"So, Nerd-boy." Sharpener asked, leaning in again. "Who do you think is hotter? Erasa or Videl?"

Gohan struggled for a second, not really sure what he should answer. He had never before classified a girl as 'hot.'

"Ehm… I don't know." Gohan cautiously replied. Sharpener was about to push for further answers, but both boots opened simultaneously and their friends stepped out in their own outfits, their arms full of clothes.

"Come on guys!" Erasa cheerfully said. "We're taking them all!"

As they strolled down the street, Videl and Erasa far ahead of the boys, who by now were beginning to resemble pack mules more then teenage males, both sexes started a conversation.

"Hey Vi, did you see Gohan staring when we where changing?" Erasa suddenly asked, whispering a bit to make sure they weren't overheard. Videl, who was carrying one of her own bags, turned to look at her best friend.

"No, what was he staring at?" Videl asked with curiosity.

"What else?" Erasa said, smiling. "Us. Looks like he really likes your legs, he couldn't get his eyes off them."

"I am not some piece of cattle!" said Videl feeling insulted.

"Vi, he doesn't say anything about it does he? He likes what he sees, just like how you like what you see when you're staring at his behind…" Erasa replied. Before Videl could reply they were surprised by a shout from behind them.

At the same time that Erasa asked her question at Videl, Gohan asked Sharpener something as well.

"Hey Sharpener, is Erasa also rich or something? I know Videl and her father are some of the richest people in the world, but Erasa bought just as many clothes as Videl and she paid it on her own."

"Oh yeah, you don't know. Let me explain it to you, Nerd-boy." Sharpener said, seemingly surprised that Gohan didn't know the information.

"Erasa's parents own a chain of beauty salons that spans across the country and they even have a few establishments in other countries now. They're not millionaires, but they make enough profit to live a lot more comfortable then most people. And Erasa pays for her clothes on her own: she works at one of the salons that her parents own. She wants to become a beautician when she's done with school and eventually take over her parents company. And becau-"

Sharpener didn't get to finish his explanation, because at that exact moment two figures jumped at Gohan, who hadn't noticed them. The sudden weight-change caused the black-haired half-saiyan to fall, backside first, to the ground while two voices simultaneously yelled.

"We got you!"

* * *

A/N:

And with that this chapter has reached its end and the new story-arc has begun. Next chapter will begin the next major fight scene and this time it will be in DBZ-style…

Much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for his work on this chapter.

I'm really surprised (and glad) that almost everyone who reviewed said the interview was good, thanks for the support everyone.

And for Naruto Rasengan Master: I had the earlier chapters (up until chapter 8 or so) written down before I started posting. Now I finish writing the chapters 2-3 days before I post so I can't post any faster then this.

As always please Review and tell me what you think.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ universe or anything related to it.

* * *

"We got you!"

As the two voices cried out their victory Gohan quickly assessed who had jumped him.

'Two light weight figures, very high and cheerful voices… no way.' Looking up on his chest, Gohan's suspicions were confirmed.

"Marron! Bra! What're you two doing here?" he asked the two little girls sitting on his chest.

"Surprising you!" Marron piped up happily.

"Yeah!" Bra added. "We got you, you didn't know what hit you did you uncle Gohan!?"

"You know these girls?" Sharpener asked, too surprised to react in any other way. At the same time Videl and Erasa were already coming over to see why Gohan had shouted like he had.

"I don't know whether I should laugh or say this looks almost cute…" Videl said.

"Marron! Bra! Where are you!" a male voice suddenly called out from the crowd. "Come on girls this isn't funny anymore, please show yourselves already. Oh man, Vegeta is going to kill me." with some difficulty, due to both his size and the numerous packages he was carrying, came the small but easily recognizable frame of Krillin.

Because he was still on the floor Gohan couldn't see his old friend, battle partner and godfather and Krillin couldn't see the saiyan yet either.

"Oh there you two are!" He said, with obvious relief, having spotted the two young girls. "how many times do I have to tell you two not to run away like that! You have to keep close to your mother and me Marron. I'm sorry sir, they slipped away and you know how- hey Gohan, what're you doing here!"

As he had lifted his daughter up, Krillin finally realized whom the two girls had jumped.

"I'm sorry pal, the girls must have spotted you and they wanted to surprise you or something. Are you ok?" Having now removed Vegeta's little princess as well, Gohan was free to stand up again.

"Yeah I'm ok. It's nothing Krillin. The girls just surprised me is all. What're you doing here?"

"What'd you think? I'm on a forced shopping trip… what about you?"

"Do you know those two girls who just jumped you Nerd-boy? And who's the guy you're talking to?" Sharpener suddenly interfered. With a shock, Gohan remembered that he hadn't introduced his classmates and friends to the older martial artist yet.

"Wow, I didn't think Gohan could ever forget his manners like that…" Erasa remarked, half joking, half surprised.

"Oh right, sorry guys. Allow me to introduce you all to-"

"KRILLIN! DID YOU FIND THEM YET?" just as Gohan was going to introduce the group, a female voice suddenly shouted loud from behind Videl and Erasa.

Curious, Videl and Erasa turned around as Krillin called back.

"Yeah Honey, I found them. They're safe and sound here with me."

A blond woman stepped out from the crowd, with piercing blue eyes. She looked like she wasn't any older then thirty at the most, most likely even younger.

"Odd." The woman said, looking Erasa and Videl up and down. "I could have sworn that when they left Marron and Bra were a bit younger then eighteen." She stopped looking around, glaring at the small man instead. Her voice carried heavy sarcasm and was obviously threatening. Almost instinctively Videl took a step back.

"You're right Honey, and they still are!" Krillin said, intimidated by his wife's behavior. "Those are some friends of Gohan's, the girls found him here in the crowd." With one hand he pulled Marron in front of him, showing the blond woman that he had indeed found their daughter, while he quickly pulled Gohan up with the other hand.

At the sight of the tall teenager, 18 raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What're you doing here kid?" she asked. A split second later, before Gohan could even reply, she turned around. Seeing the girls that were with Gohan, her eyes widened as she realized something.

"Come on Krillin, let's go." She suddenly said. "Girls, let go of Gohan, you're ruining his date."

At the rather blunt statement, Videl almost face-vaulted with a heavy blush, Erasa started giggling, mostly because of Videl's reaction, and Sharpener wasn't really sure where to look. It was obvious that the blond woman hadn't noticed the boxer yet and he wasn't going to stumble around such an intimidating, but very attractive, woman.

An almost evil grin spread across Krillin's face after his wife's words and he quickly turned to his godson.

"Ooh, I see. Good going Gohan." He said, giving Videl and Erasa a quick once-over. "I knew you had it in you, and on your first real date in the city you immediately take two such beauties with you? Nice!"

By the time that Krillin had finished his teasing, Gohan's head was more like a tomato then his classmates had ever seen it. He couldn't even really pronounce his words clearly anymore.

"He-hey I-It's not like that Krillin!" The teenager said. "We're not on a date! I had to come along because Videl and Erasa went shopping that's all!"

"So?" 18 asked. "That still qualifies as a date. What? You thought it always be going to the movies and kissing in the dark?"

As Gohan turned an even darker shade of red, Sharpener decided to come to his rescue. With a step forward he claimed the attention of the group.

"How about we all go to a café nearby and when Nerd-boy here regains his bearings long enough he can finally introduce us?" He suggested.

XxX

Less then half an hour later the eight of them were seated in a nearby café, three blocks away from the mall.

"So allow me to introduce myself first." Krillin said as he paid for the six coffees and two lemonades. "I'm Krillin, don't bother with a last name, just Krillin will do. As you can see I'm a married man, a father and currently a babysitter."

"Erasa, high school student and in training for becoming a beauty specialist."

Erasa introduced herself with a smile. She was looking at 18, who was sitting across from her, as if she was dying to ask her a question. Sharpener was up next.

"Sharpener Pencil, high school student, part time construction worker and pro boxer."

"Really? What weight class and ranking are you in?" Krillin asked with interest.

"I'm currently the national third ranking of the middleweight division." Sharpener said with pride. "I've got about two months before my next match and once I've finished that I'll be the first rank in the country."

"Impressive." Krillin said. "Now for you young lady."

'_I hate this, they'll change the moment they hear my name._' Videl thought.

"I'm Videl, another high school student and I'm a martial artist." She purposely left out her family name because it looked like Krillin hadn't recognized her yet. But for some reason Krillin seemed familiar to her, as if she'd seen him somewhere a long time ago.

"Videl? I thought you were familiar." 18 said as she put everything together. "You're Hercule's daughter aren't you? I've seen you on the news a couple times."

Realizing that there was no way out, Videl admitted defeat against her own fame. Now they were going to thread carefully around her, hoping to meet her father through her no doubt.

"Yeah I am."

"Thought so." Krillin said, though there was no noticeable change in his behavior or tone. "Now, let's continue with the round of introductions."

"You're going to laugh at my name, but I'm #18, just call me 18. My father was very original with naming me; he named me after the number of tries it took him and my mother to create me." Of course that part was a lie, but it sounded a lot better then 'I am the 18th robot in a series that was programmed to destroy the planet but I've mended my ways.'

Satisfied with the explanation, none of the teenagers questioned her any further, though they couldn't really hide their surprised looks at her name. Now the two little girls, sitting at the end of the table, were up.

"I'm Marron!" the five-year-old blond spoke up. "This is my mommy and my daddy." She pointed to 18 and Krillin in turn, before going on. "I'm five!" she added, raising her hand and showing her five fingers with pride.

"And I'm Bra." The green haired girl said. "I'm staying with my bestest friend Marron for the weekend and then Uncle Krillin and Aunt 18 took me shopping with them here! I'm four and a half!"

"Nice to meet you all." Krillin said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Same." Sharpener answered. For a few seconds silence reigned over their table, before Erasa couldn't contain her curiosity anymore.

"How is it you guys know Gohan? And Mrs. 18, I have to ask: what do you use to soften your skin? It looks so beautiful."

"Before I lose my wife in her talks about beauty products, how about we answer your first question?" Krillin suggested, seeing his wife lean forward. 18 loved to talk about every crème, salve and spray she used to look her best and, on more then one occasion, had totally lost herself when talking to other woman about it. Her record was four hours of none-stop discussion with a friend of hers.

"I'm Gohan's godfather." Krillin simply said. "I was the best friend of his father and upon Gohan's birth I was asked to be his godfather."

"Hey I could be wrong, but did you ever participate in the World Tournament of Martial Arts?" Videl suddenly asked Krillin. Blinking for a second at the seemingly random question Krillin answered.

"Yeah I entered it three times in a row, but that was before you guys were even born." The small man said. "Makes me sound old." He added, with some surprise.

"I thought so." Videl triumphantly said. "You made it to the semi-finals three times in a row didn't you? I recognized you from some of the videos of the old tournaments before the stadium was destroyed."

"Yeah I did, good eyes." Krillin said, impressed with the sharpness of Videl's mind. "I got beat in the finals three times in a row and the worst thing is, none of the guys who beat me ever became the champ themselves. It really makes winning that more painful knowing that even if you won your match you would have lost the next one."

"Wait a second." Sharpener said. "You're a world-level martial artist? I thought all of them were huge, like Hercule. How on earth can you manage to fight at that level with your size?"

Despite the rather rude way that the blond had mouthed his surprise, Krillin smiled as he gave the answer.

"Yeah a lot of people think that being small like this is a major disadvantage, but they're only half right. Look at Videl, she's a fighter that could probably ascend to world level tomorrow if she wanted too and she's not all that big either. I don't mean that as an insult!" he quickly added as Videl's face suddenly changed when he mentioned it.

"It's true that fighters like Videl and me, the fighters who are small and light, can't really put as much height and weight behind our attacks, but we have other means of compensation for that." Krillin continued. "We can move around a lot more nimble than big guys and for them it's a lot more difficult to hit us. Not that it really matters to me, I retired from martial arts about six years ago."

"But that's enough about me, what do you do in boxing? Are you a brawler type or a boxer type? And do you use a lot of power, or do you rely on lots of hits to finish opponents off?"

Sharpener, surprised with the interest that Krillin was now showing in him, replied eagerly.

"Well I'm a boxer-type, although I sometimes switch around to infighting as well. For the most part I rely on speed and numbers to take out my enemies. Although I've had some problems with taking out my opponents lately, my last 3 matches were all decision wins."

"A win is a win, sooner or later you'll learn to realize that." Krillin wisely said. "Although I can imagine your frustration at being unable to really defeat your opponent, trust me I know how it feels."

XxX

As both males eagerly moved on to discussing other aspects of boxing and fighting sports, Videl was caught in a rather strange situation.

'_They know I'm Videl Satan, daughter of Hercule but they act totally normal. In fact, I'm the only one who isn't engaged in conversation with them right now…_' she realized. To her right, Erasa was already deep in discussion with 18 concerning beauty products, while on her left Sharpener and Krillin were now leaning in closer as they got more intense in their debate on which pro-wrestler was better.

As it was Videl wasn't into wrestling, she only liked martial arts that were graceful and dance-like, and she wasn't really all that knowledgeable on beauty products either. The best she knew about those was what type of lipstick to wear with certain dresses and the minor makeup that was needed in TV-interviews and the like.

'_This feels strange…_' Videl realized as she watched them. '_I'm almost being ignored. It's like they don't even care who I am… is this how a normal girl would feel in a new group when she doesn't have anything to discuss?_'

"Sorry about that." Gohan suddenly said as he leaned over the table. "Krillin and 18 can sometimes get a bit caught up in whatever it is they're discussing." He looked sheepish as he said it, perhaps because he was afraid that Videl wouldn't feel like she was being included in the group.

"It's no big deal." She said, smiling with reassurance at Gohan. "It's just odd not to be the centre of attention in a group for once. Odd, but nice."

"Hey, hey miss." A voice suddenly called from Videl's side. The young green haired girl, Bra, was standing next to her as she pulled her sleeve.

"Yeah what is it?" Videl asked.

"You said your last name is Satan right?" the girl asked.

"Yeah it is, but you can just call me Videl." The crime fighter kindly answered. '_This kid is pretty cute._' She thought as she saw the innocent smile the little girl had.

"Does that mean you're the daughter of that idiot? That's what my daddy always calls that big Mr. Satan."

Instantly all conversations on the table stopped, every set of eyes turning to Bra.

"What?" was all Videl could ask, too surprised to say anything else.

Both Krillin and Gohan suddenly had a look of pure terror on their face. Krillin quickly jumped out of his seat and grabbed Bra, carrying her back to her seat. In the meantime Gohan, who's face was by now far past red and started turning maroon, quickly started apologizing to Videl over and over again.

"I'm sorry Videl, I'm sorry! Bra's father is always rather blunt with his opinions, sorry! Please don't take it personal!" he said, his voice far higher then it had ever been.

Without knowing why, Videl suddenly burst out laughing.

It took her almost three minutes to recover from the laughing fit, by which time almost everyone at the café was looking at the famed hero with surprise.

"Are you ok V?" Erasa asked, sounding anxious and surprised.

"I can't believe this…" Videl said, gasping for breath all the while. "She must take after her father then, because this little girl is way too blunt herself." She had always known there were people who disliked her father, every famous person had people who hated them, but this was the first time anyone had ever said it in front of her like that.

"But Bra, I have to ask." Videl said once she had fully recovered. "Why does your daddy think that my father is an idiot?"

"Because he always acts REALLY strange!" Bra answered enthusiastically, throwing her arm to the side to emphasize how strange. "And because my daddy can easily beat him! I have the strongest daddy in the world!"

Videl didn't want to break the girl's obvious hero-image of her father, but she was curious who would boast with such obvious lies.

"If you're daddy can defeat mine, why doesn't he fight in the world tournament? or does he already fight in it?" she asked.

"No, Vegeta has no interest in the tournament, same as me." Krillin said. "I quite martial arts because the World Tournament had lost all it's former glory." At the surprised and stunned look on Videl's face Krillin quickly continued.

"You guys probably don't know, since those fights were never shown on TV, but the old style world tournament was a real competition of skill, pitting many fighters against each other. As long as you had won in preliminary rounds you could participate. In other words, you had to fight to earn a place in the final tournament. These days they use some fancy machines to measure punching power, which is very unfair. It reduces the fighters that can participate in the tournament to power-punchers only."

"I guess that's true…" Videl agreed. "It's true that in the last couple of years there haven't been a lot of fighters who relied on movement rather then sheer power."

"Wait a second!" Erasa suddenly interrupted. "Did you just say that her father's name is Vegeta?"

"Yeah, what about it?" 18 answered, crossing her arms.

"Do you mean THE Vegeta? As in the husband of Bulma Briefs, the one with muscles almost as big as his ego and an explosive temper? THAT Vegeta?"

"Yeah, I guess he must be a bit famous as well huh?"

"Are you kidding? It was world news 9 years ago when Mrs. Briefs suddenly married someone out of the blue. It was a totally unknown person, but he became an instant celebrity because of the marriage."

"Hold on…" Sharpener said, interrupting Erasa's rant. "Wouldn't that mean that you're the daughter of Bulma Briefs?" he addressed the last part to Bra, who made a happy little jump.

"Yep." She said with a big smile. "My mommy and daddy are REALLY famous and rich! And my mommy is really pretty too! And my daddy's really strong!"

Again Videl, along with Erasa and Sharpener this time, was dumbstruck. 'This kid is the daughter of the richest person in the world? I didn't see THAT coming!"

"But…" Erasa started. "How… how is it you know her then? I thought that celebrities only mingled with other famous people?!"

"Yeah, well Bulma doesn't." Krillin simply said. "And I've known Bulma for a long time, since we were teenagers, so that helps. Marron and Bra go to the same kindergarten, that's why they're best friends. Bulma sends both her children to normal schools to have them mingle with kids their own age as much as they can. They get spoiled enough at their home, no sense in sending them to special schools."

"Does that also mean the CCDD is somewhere near? To guard Bra?" Videl said, a frown instantly appearing on her face.

"No, they're nowhere near." Krillin assured her with a smile and a wave of his hand.

"Why not? I thought they existed only to ensure nothing happened to Briefs' Family? Seems like a bit gab in their system then." Sharpener added.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that." Krillin said. Chuckling a little, he continued. "Let me explain it to you. About two years back Bra came over to stay with us for the first time. The Commander at the time knew a little about me but sent some CCDD agents to ensure Bra's safety. The thing is, I wasn't informed of it so when I noticed no less then twelve armed men near my house I did the most natural thing: I defended my home and family and beat all twelve of them up. The Commander showed up himself a few hours later, demanding an explanation… When I demanded one in return and he failed to give it I beat him up too. It wasn't pretty. Bulma was livid at the CCDD for what they did; they should have known that Bra would be perfectly safe with me. The Commander had to be hospitalized for about two months, and he got replaced not too long after."

"Pardon?" Videl looked at the small man in total shock. "You beat up twelve fully armed CCDD soldiers AND the Commander on your own? How?"

"They made the same mistake that almost everyone I ever fought made: they underestimated me because of my size. I may be retired from martial arts, but I still know a few tricks."

'_And to think I had trouble taking out one of them, and he was even unarmed!_' Videl thought with surprise.

Taking a look around, Krillin noticed that all the cups and glasses were empty.

"Looks like we're all out of drinks." He said as he started gathering the cups. "Anyone want a second round? It's on me. Gohan, bro, could you help me carry these back inside, I only have two hands."

With everyone politely asking for a second cup of coffee, and two lemonades for the girls, Krillin and Gohan moved back into the café.

XxX

Almost as soon as they were out of hearing from the rest, Krillin suddenly asked Gohan a question.

"How much do they know about your past?"

Gohan, who had already been expecting the question, was quick to answer, in a whisper.

"Nothing, they hardly know anything about my past of private life and I hardly know anything about theirs."

"You'll have to tell them sometime." The small man said.

"I know, but it's not easy." The demi-saiyan answered. "Its strange, but being with them makes me feel different then when I'm with you guys. They don't know who I am, what I'm capable off or what I am, but they've accepted me anyway. It feels… oddly pleasant. I'm afraid that I'll lose that feeling if I tell them everything. Videl especially, she can't stand it when someone's dishonest with her. She's really proud, almost as much as Vegeta."

"Yeah I kinda noticed." Krillin answered as he placed the cups on the bar. "Just make sure that you don't keep it hidden from your friends, if they find out in the wrong way you might end up losing them forever."

As Gohan was about to answer, there was a loud scream from outside. Instantly both fighters turned around and saw what was going on. People were running in the streets in total chaos. Everyone was fleeing in one direction, not caring how he or she got away. In an instant both were standing outside.

"What's going on?" Krillin asked his voice sharp. "What happened?"

"We don't know." Sharpener said. "I thought I heard something from that direction," he pointed towards where everyone was fleeing from, "But I'm not too sure. And now everyone's running away from there."

"Isn't that in the direction of the mall?" 18 said.

"Where's Videl?" Gohan suddenly asked, realizing that the girl had disappeared.

"Where else?" Erasa said. Her voice was scared and confused because she had no idea what was going on. "She ran straight towards the cause of this chaos."

While Erasa was explaining, both Gohan and Krillin started tracking for energy signals, but they couldn't find anything.

"It could be normal people doing something." Krillin suggested through the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, or there could be a bomb somewhere or something like that. Let's check it out just to be safe."

"Yeah good idea." As Gohan moved forward, running into the crowd in pursuit of Videl, Krillin turned around for a second.

"You kids stay with 18, she'll make sure nothing happens to you! Marron, listen to your mother! Bra, listen to 18 or I'm telling your mother and then you'll be in for it!" with that he turned around and dashed after his friend, godson and brother-in-arms.

"Wait up! I'm going with you!" Sharpener said as he ran after them.

"Good luck! Stay safe!" 18 called out after her husband.

"Good luck Daddy! Good luck Uncle Gohan! Good luck Mr. Long-hair!" Marron called out, while Bra yelled at the same time.

"Good luck Uncle Gohan and Krillin! And you too mister with the blond hair!"

All three gave a quick wave with their hand as they ran forward, pushing through the crowds.

"Wow." Erasa said as she realized something. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen Gohan run towards the danger. Usually he disappears before anything can happen."

* * *

A/N: and that's the return of Krillin, I do love the guy, he rules. And next chapter will start the second massive battle scene, with lots of DBZish action.

As always, please review to tell me what you think.

And as always lots of thanks to Kushin eX, who beta'd this chapter for me.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ, but I do own the design for the new enemies.

* * *

Gohan and Krillin were running towards the centre of the chaos, several scenarios running through their minds. They were ranging from the very likely ones, like a very brutal robbery or hold up, to the ones that were a little less likely. Like, for example, another invasion of a violent alien race.

"I got to ask you Krillin," Gohan sudden said while they were maneuvering through the screaming people, "what do Marron and Bra know about Saiyaman?"

"I can't be sure about Bra," the small man replied as he slid between a scared couple, "but I know that Marron knows nothing about it. She's even a fan. I think Bra doesn't know anything either, they were talking about him just this morning and they were both guessing. You fear the worst huh?"

"Never hurts to be prepared." Gohan replied, pushing a teenager aside as he went. "I hope it's nothing, but even if it is… Krillin can I ask you-"

"Sure bro, if trouble arrives I'll do anything I can to not reveal my own powers or endanger your identity. But if things turn to dangerous, I'm fighting if I can."

"Ok thanks." Gohan replied. They had nearly reached the centre of the commotion: Videl was standing in the centre of the square that was in front of the mall they had been at only minutes ago. She was still running, which meant that she had only just arrived as well. Standing in the middle of the square was a collection of 15 very strange persons.

They were all shapes, sizes, colors and eccentric outfits mixed together, forming a rather strange group. One of them, who was standing closest to Videl, was bald and had arms that seemed far too large for his body. It made him look more like a gorilla then a normal man. He was wearing loose trousers and a sweater, but there was no mistaking that he was a muscular person. One of the others, who were standing in front of the mall, stood out because of her odd clothing, or lack thereof. With shoulder-length blond hair, a waist as wide as Gohan's upper arm and a figure that made even Erasa seem common she stood out from the others as a real beauty. As Gohan slowly examined all the others, he noticed one feature they all had in common.

"Hey Krillin, did you see…"

"Yeah, I noticed. You'd better go. I'll hold them off until Saiyaman arrives." The small man quickly promised a look on his face that was more serious than Gohan had seen him in almost seven years.

"If you can, try not to interfere as long as Videl's still doing well enough to survive, it would be best if there was no connection between you and Saiyaman." Gohan said before phasing away. He needed to find a place where he could transform into his Saiyaman uniform without being seen.

"I'll try, but the moment this turns to dangerous, I'm stepping in." Krillin answered. Mere seconds after Gohan had disappeared; Sharpener finally appeared from the streets as well.

"Where'd Gohan go?" he asked the senior martial artist as he stepped forward. Krillin held out a hand to stop him from walking into the square.

"He went to get help." Krillin answered before looking at Sharpener. "If you want to help Videl out, now is the time to stay hidden and watch how this enemy works. If you rush out into the battle, you'll distract Videl and give those guys an opening. Stay here, observe your enemy and attack when needed. Information and surprise are very useful in a fight like this." He added, seeing that Sharpener tried to step past him again.

"So you're telling me to stay here and watch as one of my best friends is fighting against such a large group of opponents?" Sharpener asked with defiance. "I'm not about to let any of my friends get hurt if I can help it old man."

"Listen up and think before you act kid." Krillin replied, looking the tall teenager in the eye. "I have more experience with these things then you do. Videl is stronger then you are and those guys are enough to give her a run for her money. Unless you know what you're doing and how to beat them, you'll only be a hindrance for Videl. So stay here, watch, learn and only act when the time is right. And I know how irritating it feels, but by doing this you'll help her in the best way possible." While he was talking, Krillin repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, a sign that Sharpener didn't miss.

"You're acting like you know these guys." Sharpener finally said, standing around a corner where he could see the square without being seen to easily.

"Yeah I do." Krillin replied with a tense voice. "Do you see those marks that each of them has on their clothes somewhere?"

"Yeah, the red thingy." The teen answered after watching carefully for a few second. "Why?"

Krillin barely had time to finish his sentence before something happened that caused even more chaos.

"That's the symbol of one of my oldest enemies… it's the symbol of the Red Ribbon Army."

XxX

Videl had only just arrived and she was trying to get an understanding of the situation. With the exception of that group of people that looked very strange, some of them had a skin color that she had never seen nor heard of, everyone was in a panic, fleeing left and right. Already, most of the square was empty, although some of the inevitable trouble seekers were standing around, wanting to see what happened. Several cars had been seriously damaged; two of them were still burning and looked like they had just exploded.

'_Guess that explains the chaos._' The crime fighting teenager realized before observing more closely. One of the fifteen strange-looking people was carrying a shotgun and he was holding it quite casually; he was a rather big guy with a skin so shiny it almost looked pink, along with a black shirt, pink jeans and a pink jacket made of the same material as his jeans. His hair, which was a bright orange, stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of his outfit and was modeled in a Mohawk. When he turned around, Videl also saw the orange moustache and small goatee he had. All in all, he looked ridiculous enough that Videl would probably have laughed in any other situation.

But he was walking, in a relaxed pace, towards a young woman who was on the ground, blood slowly dripping from her leg. She was looking at the pink-skinned man with absolute terror in her eyes, but she could not stand up and run. Videl quickly stepped forward, attempting to go to the young woman's aid, but it was already too late; with a wicked grin on his face, the cold-hearted man slowly raised his gun and put it to her chest. He looked like he was hesitating for a bit, and then started moving the weapon around, aiming it at her heart, her head, the fork of her legs, her shoulders and then settling it on her stomach.

Before Videl had even moved ten meters, he had settled on his target and pulled the trigger.

But unlike what Videl had expected, a bright yellow beam emitted from the weapon, devouring the woman's half body. She screamed in pain as the light beam hit, but after a few seconds she fell silent as her head lopped back, dead. With he saw that the woman had died, the pink-dressed man released the trigger. At once the beam stopped and Videl could fully see what had happened to the young woman; the beam had eaten through most of her abdomen, leaving great marks and burns all over the body. Videl couldn't bear to look at the inhumanity of it anymore, instead turning away.

'_This isn't the time to be sickened' _she thought with a rage she had never felt before,_ 'I have to defeat these guys first. They'll pay for this. But there's fifteen of them and only one of me, this will be tough. I should definitely take out that guy with the gun first; he looks like he's the most dangerous one of the group._'

"Hey all of you: surrender at once or I will use force to disable you from dealing further damage." Videl shouted, getting the attention of all people at once. None of them showed any emotion at seeing her; instead some of them looked at her like she was a curious appearance, watching with amusement.

Suddenly the woman who was standing in the centre of the group, along with two large men who were standing at her sides, spoke up again. She had short, shoulder length, green hair, was muscular enough to lose her attractiveness, but didn't look overly bulky. She was wearing loose cargo pants along with a sleeveless shirt, but when she spoke up, it was in a hollow and mechanical voice that was very different from the Commander's.

"Person identified. Name: Satan, Videl. Age: 18. Occupation: High-school student and crime fighter. Fighting style: Dynamic Defeating Style, self-taught: 39 percent, trained by father. Importance to human moral: very high." The woman summed up. Her eyes seemed to glow for a second, which Videl discarded as a trick of the light, then spoke up again.

"Threat level: Minimal."

'_What?_' Videl thought with a fury. '_They're calling ME a minor __threat__?_'

"Oh, you got guts I'll give you that. But now you're going down anyway; you know who I am, you should just surrender and save yourself a beating."

"Impossible." Another, very small, man said. He was even smaller then Krillin and, to Videl's surprise, his skin was deep purple. He was wearing a yellow trench-coat and a ridiculously oversized green hat. Pulling out a hipflask, he took a sip and then spoke again. "Our defeat is a possibility that is non-existent."

"And surrender would interfere with our main mission." Another spoke up. This guy, who was standing at the side of the woman who identified Videl, was very muscular and had grey hair that fell past his shoulders. He was wearing a baseball cap, a jacket that didn't close and some loose fitting pants.

All of them spoke in the same mechanical, cold and hollow voice.

"What? What is up with you people?" Videl asked in shock.

"We are not people." The green-haired woman said. "You will be removed from our path, #1; eliminate it. Ensure protocol number two will be executed to maximum capacity."

The large bald guy, who was standing closest to Videl, with arms that were too long for the rest of his body, didn't say anything. Instead he turned to Videl, looked at her and dashed forward.

XxX

"What the hell are we still doing here?!" Sharpener shouted as he watched what happened. "Those guys aren't normal, we have to help her!"

"Trust me kid, I want too but if we interfere now, we might lose our one chance of defeating them. So stay put, wait for my signal and learn as much as you can. It will be crucial to your survival if you fight them."

"Nerd-boy had better bring back the entire police department to deal with these guys."

"Trust me; the police won't be able to do anything against these guys. He's getting help that's much more reliable then them." the black-haired martial artist said without thinking too much.

"What?" the blond asked.

"Never mind, just watch!"

XxX

The bald guy was a lot quicker then she had expected, so Videl barely had time to sidestep his punch. While she stepped to the side, she quickly moved to punch him in the gut and take him out. Before her hand reached his abdomen however, the large man's left hand caught her fist.

Holding her in place with the grip on her fist, the muscular man moved into a fluid backhand, smashing Videl on the cheek. The impact sent the girl flying for several meters, but she flipped around and landed on her feet.

'_Wow, this guy can actually fight!_' Videl realized with shock. '_And worse, that backhand hurt like hell. If I hadn't twisted my head and jumped away, it felt like he would crush my skull. I can't afford to take to many hits from this guy; I'll have to finish this fast._'

Again the silent man charged forward and swung his fist out. This time Videl didn't sidestep, instead crouching down and attacking his legs. His fist flew by mere centimeters past her head.

With one leg, Videl kicked out at the man's front leg, aiming to ruin his balance. As soon as she made contact, her other leg shot out towards his abdomen. The speed and power of her kick, combined with his own bodyweight from the fall, would knock him out for sure.

Or so Videl thought. None of her kicks had any effect. The silent man had not so much as budged when Videl had attacked his shin, and he didn't look pained at all.

'_What the? How is he taking my kick so easily!?_' Videl thought in shock. Her surprise was so overwhelming that she almost missed second fist that crashed into the stone beside her. Had she not moved her head away by a few inches, there was no question that her skull would have been crushed. From her position, Videl was about to attack the man again, using her fists this time, now that he was locked down but stopped just in time.

Her opponent raised himself partially with his arms, releasing his legs from the ground, swinging them back a little. Videl was soon looking at a double knee attack that was aimed for her head. By instinct, Videl crossed her arms in front of her face. Her curled up position also allowed her to raiser her legs as an additional block. It was a block that was too impractical to really use in fights, except for situations like these.

But even her double block did not save her from the damage of the attack. The instant the knees of her enemy made contact, Videl felt an intense pain shoot through her entire body. The pain was send through her legs and arms, and she could almost feel the power of the attack attempting to crush her head again. Without any ground to hold on, the petite girl's body was send sliding over the ground, rolling and spinning without control. She moved almost twenty meters before being forced to stop by colliding with a bench. The wood broke as she crashed into it, sending small wood splinters flying everywhere.

As Videl lay dazed by the impact and pain, she became aware of the looks everyone was giving her. All the people that were still around, and Videl was sure that there were more then a few camera's watching, were shocked at how the fight was going.

'_No doubt about it, this guy means business!_' Videl thought as she tried to steady herself. The moment that she stood again, her balance suddenly left her and she fell forward: her leg could not support her weight anymore. As she fell back down, Videl realized what had happened.

'_That hit he just landed was strong enough to rattle my head and distort my sense of balance._ _I'll have to make do without it for now. But my leg hurts like hell and it looks like it may not support my full weight. That means I have to stop kicking for now; if I can't stand on one leg, I'll only give away an opening. But… this guy is stronger then anyone I've ever fought. He could take my hit without a problem and he's rattled me this much with one attack. I'll have to finish him off quickly, but how?_'

As she watcher her opponent come closer step by slow step, almost as if he was moving slowly on purpose to stall out her defeat, Videl remembered the times that her father had arranged for someone to teach Videl and his other elite students about the strength and weaknesses of the human body.

"**Now, you must remember that the human body is, in fact, not meant for battle. We have adjusted over the centuries to survive and sometimes battle was an inevitable part of that survival, but our body is not as powerful as that of, for example, a bear. Nor are we as agile as, say, a monkey. Our body is full of limitations of our movements and those limitations are the weakness of a body. There are several different ways of attacking what some people call a 'Critical Area.'**" The voice of the doctor rang through her head.

"**There are the weaknesses that are located on the torso or the head, which mostly consist of either nerve collections, the Plexus's, or internal organs that are close to the surface of the body and, or, not protected by the skeleton. Those are the area's one often hears of in fighting: the neck, the liver, the kidney, the armpit, the temple, back of the head, the coccyx, the genitals and the collarbone. These are all spots that you can reach with any fighting style and the area's themselves will be hurt by a bare fist as well. Attacking any of those areas will have a large effect on an opponent. They will be in great pain, hampered in their movements for a while and most likely both. The chin is another such area, but it is slightly different from the previously mentioned areas; unlike, say, the armpit where an attack is aimed at the weakest part of the ribs and will instantly be transferred to the lungs, attacking the chin does not directly hit an organ. Instead the impact carries through the entire skull, shaking the brain and disturbing the sense of balance for a time.**"

'_That's what I have to aim for: one of the critical areas._' Videl realized. '_But I've always avoided them because I might cause too much damage to someone. I'll have to aim for an easy target: the Solar Plexus. It's located in the junction between his ribs and his abdominal muscles, a place that's almost impossible to train. And the attack will be send straight to the lungs as well! And it has a low probability of actually killing him._'

With her plan thought out, Videl steadied herself and looked at the approach of her opponent. #1 was still a few meters away from her, his arms swinging slowly as he casually walked closer.

'_No, he's luring me out._' Videl thought as she considered charging him now. '_With my leg hurt and my sense of balance distorted there's no way I can run that distance fast. I'll have him attack and then counter it by punching his lights out._'

XxX

Stepping back a bit, placing her weight on her good leg, Videl carefully measured the distance. Seeing the Videl had recovered enough to stand stabile, #1 increased his walking speed a little. As soon as he was in reach, he sent his right arm shooting out, but the small girl suddenly shot forward, ducking underneath his punch. Her fist made contact with his chest, but his mechanical body would not suffer damage from such a weak attack.

With the girl carefully locked in place by her own actions, #1 drew back his arm, slamming his elbow into the back of her head. She fell forward, but his sensors indicated that her skull was still intact. Readjusting some of his settings, he re-evaluated how much longer he should continue to fight in the way he had been doing.

'_The protocol dictates that chaos, moral failure and disorder are to be created too maximum capacity, without interfering with the main objective. Readings indicate human moral dropping, logic dictates I must continue my current actions. Continuing approach. Reducing attacking force to 78 percent._'

He picked the girl up with one hand and, seemingly without effort, tossed her into a nearby car. The glass shattered as the car shook under the impact, but the girl was still alive.

'_Reducing attacking force to 73 percent. Continuing current approach._' The machine confirmed after scanning Videl's vital signs again.

XxX

As Videl lay on the car she had been thrown into, the alarms ringing wild to add insult to injury, she realized that she had very little chance against her opponent.

'_I hit him in the Solar Plexus and the abdomen, but he didn't even flinch on either occasion… what else can I do? Is this guy some sort of super-human?_'

"**However, that is only one way of looking at disabling areas."** She remembered the doctor explaining. "**Another way of looking at weaknesses in the human body is by observing the skeleton itself. It is a strong structure, which is not likely to break under normal circumstances. The force required to actually break bones at their centre is very high, so it's usually unpractical to aim for such an approach. However, like all things, the skeleton has weakness: the joints. These wonderful ****areas**** of our bodies are the sole reason that we can move, but by their very nature, which is to allow movement, they are weaker then the bones. An attack aimed at a joint, especially if it is directed in a direction that the joint cannot move in, can easily destroy them. There are certain fighting styles that focus completely on that aspect, teaching its members to attack the joints to quickly disable your opponents. So, the weaknesses of the skeleton are the joints, while the weaknesses of the body in general are the critical areas. As some of you may notice, there is 1 place where both weaknesses are mixed together: the single weakest point in the human body: the neck. A well placed attack to this area may result in an instant defeat and, in most cases, lead to permanent damage or even death. Therefore, you must be very careful when you aim to hit the neck.**"

'_I__only have one area left I can try to attack: his neck._' Videl thought with terror. 'B_ut if I do, I might just kill him… I can't kill him. I just can't. I refuse to kill anyone!_'

As she tried to lean against the car for some support, Videl suddenly felt a painful stab between her shoulder blades. Along with the stabbing feeling, she could feel a drop of blood slowly making its way down her back. As she stood up, Videl realized what exactly was going on: her bra had been broken and now one of the iron fasteners had pierced into her back, drawing blood.

Videl could barely stand up straight: her vision was still swimming from the three attacks she had taken, her leg still hurt whenever she tried to put some weight on it, she felt like she had a concussion from the elbow to the back of her head, and she was receiving sharp pains from her back with every movement.

'_This doesn't look good at all._' Videl cynically thought as #1 closed in on her. He slowly walked until he was standing right next to her, and then punched her in the face. With all the build-up damage Videl could barely reach up with her arms to block, but the moment she did a yelp of pain escaped her mouth: raising her arms had caused the fasteners to dig even deeper into her back. Even with her arms in place, the distraction removed all tension from the block, making it near useless. As the punch connected with Videl, she was send rolling on the ground again.

With each turn, the pain all over her body increased and the fasteners were forced deeper into her back, drawing more blood.

This time Videl didn't come into contact with any other objects, although she saw two of the other weirdo's step away to avoid coming into contact with her. When she stopped, lying on her back, she made a half-turn to reduce the pain a little.

'_This isn't going the way it's supposed to go!_' Videl raged in her head. '_This asshole is just toying with me! ME, Videl Satan! I should be kicking his ass all over the place, but he's just too strong…_'

Videl tried to raise herself a bit, but she couldn't: her arms couldn't push her up anymore. #1 stopped moving some distance away from her, apparently waiting for her to get back up.

'_Now he's suddenly being a gentleman, waiting until I get back up?_' she thought, more pain shooting through her body. '_This guy just wants to toy around even more. I should-_"

Before Videl could think of what to do, she saw the look on the face of the pink-skinned man with the shotgun. His face was still stuck in the same grin from before, but his eyes were dull. The look in the eyes of her opponent was completely identical, which suddenly made Videl realize something: this was more then simply toying with her, or humiliating her a bit. This man… he was really going to kill her!

The sudden realization made Videl's entire body shiver out of fear: a fear unlike any she had ever felt before. Videl was not stupid enough to think she could be anything near fearless, but she had never been worried about her own safety before. It gave her a new energy, allowing her to stand up again, but she didn't know what to do. One side of her told her to fight, while the other half was screaming at her to turn around and run away. Just as she saw #1 start moving towards her again, she could remember other words she had heard. Words that came from a person she could not stand, but he at infinitely more experience then she had.

"**Tell me Miss Satan, how stupid and naive are you? You think the world will abide by your standards? That everyone will be nice and keep to the rules? Wake up! This world we live in is harsh and cruel; it punishes the smallest of mistakes and rewards only the greatest of achievements. You yourself are a crime fighter; you should know better then anyone that people everywhere will always break the rules. Up until now you've faced opponents who were no real enemies. Opponents that were scared of you, scared of your name, or that were far too weak to even be considered an opponent. But be honest with me, when have you ever faced an enemy that you knew could, and would, kill you? When have you stared death in the face and fought it?**"

'_Now… would be the first time I've ever done that._' Videl thought, cringing as she remembered the Commander's harsh words. '_But even so… what can I do? He's trying to KILL ME!_' Videl had to stop herself from shouting in fear as the realization fully hit her.

"**I treat my enemies as I would have them treat me, Miss Satan. I will fight without holding back, because I expect them to do the same. And I would consider it a greater insult to defeat an opponent who was holding back then being defeated by someone who gave his all.**"

'_That won't do for me. I don't go that low. But for once, I'll have to treat my enemy like they're treating me!_' Videl thought, her fear and anger taking control of her body. '_And this time, I'll show everyone that-_'

"I'm not WEAK!" she shouted the last part out at the same time as she attacked.

Videl's sudden lunge surprised #1, who had been reassessing his strategy again. The muscular man didn't react to it, his processing unit still busy with altering the power-regulation. The punch, which had almost all of Videl's weight behind it, slammed into the android's throat and caused enough damage to puncture the thin metal layer. Following up on her last offensive, Videl jumped up and smashed her knee into #1's nose. His head was sent flying back, with the rest of his body following, allowing Videl a look at the bald man's injured neck.

What she saw surprised her: most of his neck was still intact, but the point where her fist had impacted, it was pushed to the inside and cracked. Without thinking Videl sound out another punch at the same area, using all the power she had left. As he fist broke through the damaged area, her fist suddenly had no resistance at all until it reached the other metal wall. All the cables and wires she felt were torn under her punch, disrupting the connection between #1's controlling system and his body. Just as her fist reached the back of #1's neck, another thin but powerful layer of metal, she could feel the metal plate in the battle gloves Gohan gave her for her birthday break. The impact was still strong enough to break out through the back of #1's neck, permanently disabling him from the fight.

When Videl realized that she was actually holding a grown man's body, with her own hand slammed through its throat, she screamed and jumped back. The people still located around the square started cheering and clapping a few moments later, realizing what had happened.

"It seems that #1 made a mistake in reducing power to below 60 percent. #2 and #3, finish it off." the green-haired woman spoke up. She was obviously in command of this group, but Videl was too shocked by what she had done to pay much attention. Only when a small yellow-skinned man of her own size walked up towards her, his black hair so short and spiky it looked like a porcupine, approached her, did she realize what was going to happen.

From the other side, a second man started walking towards the teenage crime fighter. This man was normal size but was extremely muscular, combined with being rather obese. His midnight black skin and dreadlock hair all served to make him seem more intimidating, which it certainly did.

Suddenly the yellow-skinned man raised his left arm, showing Videl his fingertips. Just as she was about to wonder what he was doing, his fingertips suddenly split open to reveal a small barrel within each finger. A bullet was fired from each of his fingers, but they didn't hit Videl; instead all five barely missed her, adding to her fear.

Now Videl was focusing all of her attention on the small man that was able to shoot bullets from his hand. Only when he was right in front of her, did she notice that the large black man had jumped up and was preparing to attack her.

Just before his attack would have crushed Videl's own throat, she could see another figure suddenly move in and kick the obese fighter in the face. As the large man flew back a surprising distance, the figure moved over to the yellow-skinned man and punched him in the stomach. Like its partner, the spike-haired midget was send flying away.

Another figure, this one as tall as the man with the dreadlocks, stepped out next to Videl. Looking up, the teen saw the familiar long blond hair and muscular arms of Sharpener Pencil. Looking at her actual savior, Videl suddenly realized who it was.

Krillin turned around, looking Videl in the eye, and spoke up.

"You've done excellent Videl; we'll help out from here. Don't worry too much about these two: Sharpener and I can hold them off you long enough for you to recover a bit and get out of here."

"Are you ready?" Sharpener asked as he raised his arms into his boxing stance, crouching low.

"Of course I am. The question is if you're ready to do this." Krillin said as he walked towards the black robot he had kicked away. "You're the stronger one of this duo right?" he assumed.

"I'll take you on from here."

* * *

A/N:

And here we have part 1 of the battle, much more DBZ-ish then the last one. As you can see this fight will also be on a much larger scale then the last one. I noticed while writing this and discussing it with my Beta, Kushin eX, that some of it can be slightly confusing, but I use this battle to also improve my writing ability for large-scale battles because they will be happening even more. So, in order to improve my writing of group battles, please give as much feedback as possible: comment on what was confusing, what could be improved and what you thought was ok and I'll do everything I can to improve my own abilities with writing. If you do give me feedback (or just a review saying you liked it): thanks!

As always much thanks to my good friend and beta Kushin eX.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: if I had owned DBZ, then Gohan and Videl would have had a much bigger role, but since they don't… I don't own it.

* * *

Gohan could feel Krillin's energy level raising and lowering every few seconds. Combined with the weakening of Videl's energy, which meant she was losing her fight, he knew that he had to hurry.

'_I have to find a policeman or something, I need to have them evacuate the area around the fight._' The demi-saiyan thought as he ran through the city. '_Where are they when you need them!? I can't change into Saiyaman until I see a __police officer__. If anyone would see Saiyaman flying in the opposite direction of the actual commotion, it'd mean more trouble then well._'

He saw a flash of blue and reeled around; a police car was standing there, trying to understand why the people were fleeing in hysteria. Gohan quickly jumped into an alley, pressed the button on his watch and appeared behind the officers as Saiyaman within an instant. The policemen seemed surprised by his sudden appearance, but as soon as the crowd noticed him, they started screaming for him.

"IT'S SAIYAMAN!" "YOU HAVE TO HELP! IT'S TERRIBLE!" "He'll handle it, I'm sure." "WHO CARES, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"What the hell is going on?" the driver of the police-car asked, clueless about what's going on. Saiyaman quickly turned to face him and crouched down to speak through the window.

"Officers, there is a terrible situation in the city right now." he informed them. "From what I have come to understand so far, a group of powerful and ruthless fighters has caused a lot of chaos. Miss Videl is already on the scene, but I fear she will not be enough to deal with these people."

"Whoa whoa, slow down there." The policeman said, trying to understand what was going on. "What'd you mean, 'Videl wouldn't be able to handle them?' She can handle anyone apart from her father in a fight." he said with confidence

"Perhaps, but I have some experience with the people she is fighting right now and they are far stronger then you would think. I fear that even I will not be able to take care of them easily. Therefore I have to ask your assistance."

After that statement, both policemen had a look of great shock on their face. If even Saiyaman said he wouldn't be able to handle them on his own, what chance would they, mere policemen, have?

"I will go and buy as much time as I can, in the meantime I would like to request that the police force evacuate the city." The superhero suddenly asked. "I know it is a strange request, but please do so. Unless the city is cleared I will not be able to use my full power; I will harm innocent citizens if I do."

Without waiting for a reply, Saiyaman turned around and shot into the air, flying at the centre of the chaos.

After sharing a look his partner, the officer picked up his radio and contacted the police commissioner.

"Ehm sir…" he started. "This is Patrol 456 calling in, Officer Mace speaking. We have just received a request from Saiyaman to begin an evacuation of the city."

For a few seconds, there was silence on the other end of the radio, then the voice of the commissioner sounded through the speaker.

"What? I can't give a damn evacuation order without some series motive or an order from the Mayor or someone higher up. Check out the scene and report back, I'll think about our next course of action."

The two men stepped out of their car, locked it and began shouldering their way through the crowd so they could find out some more about what exactly was going that could make Saiyaman, who had never hurt anyone, instead making everyone who opposed him surrender by a show of his abilities, speak of fighting with his full power against whatever was causing the trouble.

XxX

Videl was still too hurt from her fight to react when Krillin and Sharpener had suddenly jumped in and saved her. Before she had even had a chance to speak up, Krillin had challenged the bigger of the two enemies. Meanwhile, Sharpener moved to stand in between the small yellow skinned man, who could shoot bullets from his fingers, and Videl. He raised his fists and crouched down, moving into his boxing stance. Opposite of him, #2 took a half step back, going into a wide stance.

On the other side, Krillin didn't move into a stance at all, he was looking at the large black man with an almost relaxed posture. The much larger #3 did take up a fighting stance, although Videl didn't recognize it.

Again the muscular green woman spoke up in her robot-like voice.

"Targets identified." She said, her eyes glowing red again. "1: Name: Pencil, Sharpener. Age: 18. Occupation: part-time construction worker, professional boxer and high-school student. Fighting style: standard form Out-boxing, various special punches used. Trained by specialized trainer, Boxant Kraft. Importance to human morale: minimal. Threat level: minimal. #2, eliminate it ."

The yellow-skinned man broke out into a grin, but didn't act yet. "Understood #15." He said. Like the woman, his voice was without emotion.

#15 turned towards Krillin then spoke up again.

"2: Name: Bongo, Krillin. Age: 37. Occupation: retired prize fighter. Fighting style: Turtle Sennin Style. Taught by the Turtle hermit Roshi, adjusted the style for his own preference. Importance to human morale: minimal. Threat level: massive. #3, approach with caution."

"Affirmative." The large #3 answered. As he changed his stance, Videl's mind was still racing.

'_What? They consider Krillin a massive threat?_' She was surprised by the sudden announcement. _'But he's smaller then I am and he can't be all that much heavier. Why would they call him a major threat? Is his skill really that great? He IS a former world-level fighter of course, but he never made it to champion. From what all the people, even the experts, say I am on world-level as well. There shouldn't be that much difference between us, right?'_

Oddly enough, it was the two large fighters, Sharpener and #3, who charged against their opponent. Within seconds, Videl was forced to realize exactly why Krillin had been deemed a greater threat then her.

XxX

'_These guys are far above my level, so I'll have to take the initiative!'_ Sharpener thought as he charged forward. His left flew forward as his coach had always drilled him too. But #2 simply deflected the punch with the back of his hand, then stepped forward and attacked Sharpener's gut.

Going with the momentum his arm had already gathered, the blond jumped forward and barely evaded the punch. Taking a few more steps to gain some distance, he twisted himself around and began moving in a wide circle around the yellow man. #2 didn't react, instead watched Sharpener's movement carefully. As soon as he had come into a rhythm, Sharpener launched another offensive; striking one area and moving away before the robot could counterattack.

'_Krillin was right._' Sharpener thought as he watched #2 miss for the third time with a kick. '_These guys, or at the very least the first two, only attack in straight lines. They don't adapt their angles in any way, so if you move while attacking they'll have a much harder time to strike back._'

With his movements speeding up, Sharpener began mixing up his left and right punches, aiming at various locations on the mechanical body. His fists were beginning to hurt from the contact with #2's metal skin, but Sharpener kept up the assault. But even after he had landed over three dozen punches, the small man didn't so much as budge an inch.

'W_hat the hell? No matter who it is, they should be feeling the pain after that many hits!_' the boxer thought, desperation clawing at him. '_Wait, of course. These guys aren't human… they're robots. Trying to drain them down won't help; I have to go for a killing blow. Let's see how he likes a corkscrew to the back of his head!_'

With that in mind, Sharpener stopped as soon as he was behind the mechanical menace and twisted from the tip of his toes until his rotating fist hit the robot right between the eyes.

'_Wait a second? His eyes?_' Sharpener thought, just before he felt #2's iron fist connect with his gut. As he doubled over, he could see the robot draw back his leg for a kick to Sharpener's lowered face.

'O_h crap._'

XxX

Krillin didn't move until #3's fist was a second away from contacting his nose. With a quick head slip he evaded the blow, not even bothering to move his body. Another three punches, followed by an uppercut, were dodged in that matter before #3 aimed at his body.

'W_ell, at least this guy can attack in more then straight lines._' Krillin thought as he sidestepped the punch with ease. '_He's pretty fast, but that's only counting by ordinary human standards. At most I'd guess him about equal in speed with Tien, back when he first met him at the Worlds._'

As it was, Krillin saw all of the punches coming at an almost frustratingly low speed. But he knew better then to drop his guard or get overconfident despite his obvious advantage.

'_I'll have to buy as much time as possible for Gohan to arrive._' He reminded himself as he passed yet another chance to counter the android's attacks. Instead he jumped forward, extended his hand to prevent the robot from seeing anything and quickly darted to the side and stood behind the machine. Because of Krillin's hand blocking his eyes or, in this case, optical sensors, #3 didn't see where the retired fighter had gone.

Krillin took the time that he had 'disappeared' to see how the two teenagers were doing. Videl was sitting up, purposely avoiding leaning her back on anything near her, with a look of surprise on her face. Sharpener was literally running circles around #2, but his punches didn't seem to have much of an effect. The yellow-skinned pint-sized fighter didn't even bother evading or blocking the weak punches.

'_He'll manage for now._' Krillin deducted, before turning his attention back on his own opponent. #3 had turned around his upper body, leaving him with no way to flee or evade an attack. Krillin jumped up and landed an uppercut on the black robot's chin. Instantly the robot's head flew back, the rest of his body quickly following.

As Krillin was the effects of his weak punch, he hadn't even used his energy to enhance the attack instead he had only used his spring-like jump to give power to the punch, he almost face vaulted.

'_How much do I have to hold back to make it seem realistic here!?_' He mentally questioned. As #3 recovered, stood back up and renewed his attack, Krillin got into a rhythm, albeit slow for his habits, and evaded all the attacks with ease. While Krillin was almost literally dancing around the punches, kicks, tackles, body slams and head buts that were used he managed to glance around to the other fight again. He saw Sharpener stop moving to launch a strong punch and, at the same time, #2 turned around.

'_Not good. That kid is in for it now!_' he thought. Acting immediately, the second-best apprentice of the Turtle Hermit ducked underneath a wild hook, punched #3 in the gut. Flowing into the next movement, he threw the large robot over him and shoulder-bashed him away, rocketing straight to his yellow partner.

The two robots connected with each other just before #2 kicked Sharpener in the face. Knowing that the boxer would need more time to recover, Krillin dashed towards the two robots to fight them two-on-one.

XxX

Videl watched with awe at the two fights. She was surprised to see that Sharpener could evade #2's attacks, while she had experienced difficulty evading the attacks of #1, until she realized that all his attacks were in straight lines.

'_Now that I think about it, so were the attacks from that gorilla-bastard._' She realized. Turning her head slightly, she had been drawn into Krillin's display of fighting skill, her jaw almost falling to the floor; the small black-haired man was toying around with that android. He didn't even move for the first few seconds, evading attacks with only his head. That alone had already amazed Videl, who realized the incredible reaction time such an action would take. But when he had started moving as well, she had difficulty keeping track of him, even from such a distance.

'_How does he do that?_' she wondered when he swiftly ducked another punch and sidestepped the next. '_He doesn't move more then absolutely necessary, as if he already knows exactly where the attack will land._'

She was even more impressed when he suddenly jumped forward and held out his hand. He didn't attack, instead jumping off the muscular arm that was still extended, and moved around to stand behind his opponent. While #3 stood for almost three seconds trying to locate the former world-level fighter, Krillin took a look at Sharpener's fight before returning to his own.

'_He's really not even trying!_' Videl realized as she saw him do so. '_He's relaxed enough to pay attention to another fight…_'

As the android turned around, Krillin jumped from the ground and hit with an uppercut to the chin. Unlike Videl, Krillin apparently had no problems attack critical areas. The punch was strong enough to send the heavy android swinging back and crashing to the ground. She was too surprised at how easily Krillin had floored a fighter superior to #1 to see the look on his face.

'_No way!_' she thought with wide eyes. '_What the hell is going on here? He can't have that much power in his little body!_'

But because he was a robot, the uppercut didn't affect #3 as it would affect a human. He was back up on his feet in seconds and attacked with renewed vigor. But still, Krillin was moving around to evade the attacks, almost looking bored while he did so. It also didn't escape Videl's notice that Krillin was never moved more then two meters from his original starting point.

'_He's completely controlling the fight, even the movements of his opponent. Is this what a fight at the level of the World Tournament of Martial Arts is like? Is this the level that my father can fight at?_' as she saw Krillin move around #3 again, another thought struck her. '_Is there really that much of a difference?_'

Just as she had thought it, she saw Sharpener bend over from the corner of her eye. Turning around, she saw that #2 had punched him clean in the stomach. At the same time Krillin returned to the offensive, drawing her attention again. With two moves he had thrown the much larger and heaver black man over him and hit him with a perfectly timed shoulder-bash. With no ground to hold on, the robot shot towards his ally.

Krillin's aim and timing couldn't have been better: both robots were sent rolling through the streets together. He quickly ran after them, stopping by Sharpener to check up on him and tell him to take a break.

As the robots stood up again the green-haired woman in charge, #15, spoke up. "#8, return the Power Rifle to #2." She ordered. "Doing so will increase his chance of success by five percent." Without arguing the pink-skinned man, who only minutes earlier had killed a young woman, tossed his weapon to #2, who caught it with ease.

"#2 and #3, combine your abilities." #15 continued. "An effective co-operative assault will have twenty percent move chance of success then an individual attempt."

"Confirmed." Both robots replied.

As #3 took aim with his shotgun, #2's fingers opened up again to show the barrels he held within them. They opened fire at once, making Videl twist her head back to Krillin. The experienced fighter didn't even slow down his assault, but instead began making small zigzag maneuvers. The bullets and light-bombs flew straight past him, instead hitting the streets just behind him. Sharpener quickly jumped away, making sure to stay out the line of fire as he tried to recover.

Before long Krillin reached the two androids and jumped in between them, forcing them to stop firing. Without stopping to turn around, Krillin sprang back and kicked #2 in the face, sending the smaller machine flying away and crashing into the same bench that Videl had hit mere minutes before. Like with #3, #2 quickly recovered and rejoined the fight, leaving the bench broken completely in two.

But even with the two robots attacking him together, they couldn't hit Krillin at all. He was stepping back, ducking, jumping and sidestepping all of their attacks with ease. More then once he stepped to the side of one of his opponents, making it impossible for the other to attack. A couple of times he even slipped between them, almost making the two allies hit each other.

Videl watched the fight with even more amazement as before. The more she watched, the more she realized that both of the robots Krillin was fighting were superior to the gorilla-like #1 she had defeated.

'_If they're already superior to #1, who I only barely managed to defeat,_' Videl suddenly realized, '_then how much stronger would the others be?_'

XxX

As Krillin had dashed forward to meet the two robots head on, he had seen them ready their weapons. But, to his eyes, the bullets and energy blasts they fired were so slow he could easily evade them. He knew that the bullets wouldn't even be able to harm him, he had already seen they were not armor piercing rounds, and the energy blasts were so weak that they wouldn't give him a burn even if he didn't shield himself.

But in order to avoid standing out too much, Krillin did still dodge the attacks. While dodging them, he projected his energy around himself to force all the projectiles to change their direction and hit the ground just behind him. He couldn't risk the a car exploding from an energy blast, or someone getting shot by accident.

As soon as he had closed in, he quickly kicked #2 away and then kept up his completely evasive strategy.

'_I have to admit,_' he thought to himself with amusement, '_after being the point of ridicule by so many enemies it IS nice to turn things around for once._'

Twisting underneath another energy blast from #3's weapon, fired at close range this time, Krillin counterattacked by kicking the midnight-black opponent in the stomach, causing him to double over. Within a second, Krillin gave him another uppercut to the face, forcing the machine to look at the sky, before landing a dropkick on his neck. The attack, aside from causing a formidable dent in #3's neck, caused the two robots to crash into each other. #3 quickly regained his footing, but #2 was not so fortunate.

The small machine was send flying into the same car that Videl had dented after #1's assault. He had landed mere meters away from Videl, who still hadn't stood up. While Krillin continued dancing around #3's gun, #2 got back on his feet and slowly advanced towards Videl. The girl quickly stood up, trying to prepare herself for a fight, but she winced as she placed weight on her bad leg. At the same time, a wave of nausea hit her, reminding her of her disturbed sense of balance. #2 increased his pace, moving closer to her while she had problems standing straight. When he was only a few steps away, he pulled back his hand to strike her. Unable to move, Videl instinctively closed her eyes so she didn't have to see the punch.

It never came.

When Videl opened her eyes, all she could see for a second was a deep red, waving in front of her. As the wind caught full control over the red cape, Videl could see Saiyaman standing in front of her, holding #2's outstretched fist, locking the robot in place.

Without intending too, Videl could feel all tension leaving her body as she wore a relieved smile.

"Are you all right Miss Videl?" The superhero asked in his loud voice. But it didn't sound as cheerful as it usually did. It almost reminded him of when he had been interviewed: his entire body was tense, although it was not out of nervousness this time.

Saiyaman released #2's hand and the machine quickly jumped back. Videl gave a quick nod to answer his question and then the masked man spoke up again.

"You there, with the yellow skin and black hair." he said. "And this goes for your companions that endanger the people as well: please surrender now before this goes out of hand. We can solve this without violence, let's talk it out."

"Impossible." The silver-haired, muscular, cap wearing #13 said. "Surrender is not compliable with our main objectives."

Meanwhile #15 was silent, but the light in her eyes were blinking rapidly, then died down for a second and began flickering again.

"And what would those objectives be then?" Saiyaman asked, looking at #13.

"Objective number 1." The attractive blond young woman that Krillin had noticed when he scouted out the androids spoke up. "Follow any order from the creator without failure. When not compatible, use logic to achieve maximum success."

"Objective number 2." Another of the androids, this one bald and wearing sunglasses, said. "Ensure the creator's revenge by killing the heir of his enemy. If inapplicable, comply with objective 3."

"Objective number 3." A large, silver skinned Chinese-like robot said. "Ensure maximum depletion of human population and moral, unless conflicting with objectives 1 and-or 2."

"Surrender is not in the main objectives, we are unable to comply." #2 said as he charged again. For the first time ever Videl could see Saiyaman's face, or what she could see of it at least, contract with something like anger. While #2 charged forward, Saiyaman suddenly disappeared and instantly reappeared behind the robot. At the same time as he appeared, the green-clad fighter smashed his fist through the back of his opponent. The force of the punch ripped through the small mechanical body instantly, tearing it to pieces.

"If those are your objectives, then I can not allow you to roam free to endanger the good citizens of this city." He said, looking more intimidating then ever. The falling pieces of machinery looked much more impressive then anything Videl had ever seen him do, even catching all the bullets from a fully automated machine gun.

A little back, Krillin was still fighting #3. Seeing that Saiyaman arrived, he ducked underneath another energy blast, closed in on #3 in an instant, and then jumped up. As he jumped, he punched straight through the shotgun and continued to hit his chin again. The dent left from the previous assault was enough for the #3's neck to give way, separating his head from the body.

Never one to leave things to chance, Krillin reached into #3's body through the now-open neck and started pulling the wires apart. As soon as all the lights inside his body stopped glowing and all the beeps stopped, he jumped away from #3's body.

As he walked past Saiyaman, he softly said, "Just one less for you to deal with."

"Thank you sir, but I must ask that you leave the area at once." The weird-dressed fighter replied. "I fear I will not be able to ensure your safety, so please evacuate the area."

The statement shocked Videl, whose mind was racing again.

'_What? Even Saiyaman thinks he can't handle them? Despite all his speed and power? This is more serious then I thought. There must be something I can do to help…_' but she couldn't think of anything, her frustration growing with her realization that she was unable to do anything.

Suddenly, #15's eyes stopped blinking and she spoke up, her analysis complete.

"Target identified. Name: Saiyaman, The Great." She started. Videl had trouble suppressing a snicker at the fact that the machine thought that Saiyaman was actually named 'The Great.' "Age: unknown, estimated between 16 and 30. Occupation: crime fighter. Fighting style: unknown. Previous training unknown. Importance to human morale: massive. Threat level: massive. Possibility of being main target: 64 percent."

For a second, she was silent, while Videl processed the information she had learned. '_Saiyaman and Krillin are on the same threat level? Was Krillin playing around that much?_' was her first thought. '_And how do they know that Saiyaman has such a high possibility of being their target? Who are they hunting?_'

Just then, #15 spoke up again.

"#4, #5, #6 and #7: eliminate Saiyaman, The Great."

* * *

A/N:

Some Krillin ownage this chapter, along with some big shocks for Sharpener and Videl… but now that Saiyaman has entered the fray, what will happen? You'll have to wait for the next chapter for that…

Much thanks to my beta and good friend Kushin eX, who reads through every single chapter I write listens to my idea's (and rambles) and is always up for discussing anything.

I would also like to clear up some confusion surrounding the last chapter:

The reason Gohan took so long has been explained in the opening scene of course (it takes quite some time to find police in Satan City…) but about Krillin not interfering to stop the young woman from dying:

There is a slight 'lag' in the timeline in these chapters (especially noticeable in this chapter): I show the same event from multiple viewpoints. When Gohan left and Krillin explained the Red Ribbon Logo to Sharpener, he had to turn around. When he turned his back on the situation the android closed in on the woman and started shooting. That was the 'something' that happened to 'cause even more chaos.' So, Krillin would have been to late to safe her if he had moved even then, since her stomach/abdomen had already been destroyed.

As always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: still own nothing, except the idea for this fic.

* * *

"#4, #5, #6 and #7: eliminate Saiyaman, The Great."

After the orders were emitted four of the androids stepped forward.

First was the attractive young female android that had explained about the first objective. She was scantly dressed, wearing as few clothing as possible. Her ample chest was held back by a single piece of black cloth, tied into a knot on her back, while the only other items of clothing were a pair of black knee-high boots and, also in black, very small hot pants. All in all, the outfit caused her to appear very hot and more then a little slutty. The small number 4 underneath the red ribbon logo, which was placed over her right breast, indicated who she was.

The second android to step forward was the male that had explained about the second objective: he was short, but still taller then Krillin, bold and wore sunglasses. He wore a simple white sleeveless shirt, military-print cargo pants and white sneakers. The marking beneath his Ribbon-sign identified him as #5. He reached into his pocket as walked and pulled out a stiletto, ensured the blade was out and then entered a fighting stance, facing the superhero.

Third was an extremely large and muscular woman, tall enough to look Piccolo straight in the eye, who had a large purple Mohawk on her head. Her hair clashed horribly with the red Chinese-style dress she was wearing, imprinted with a dragon. Her Red Ribbon symbol was tattooed into her right shoulder. All together, she was a very imposing woman.

The last man was the least conspicuous off the quartet. He wore a brown sweater, covering his face with the attached hood. He wore common jeans and brown sneakers, matching his sweater, and his hands were in his pockets. But still, Saiyaman could notice his unnaturally pale skin form underneath his clothes. In his case, the ribbon-sign was sewn onto the back of his sweater.

"I don't suppose you are any more willing to surrender now then you where two minutes ago?" Saiyaman asked with caution.

"Negative," the sweater-wearing #7 said, "As stated before, we must continue with our objective." Without any further warning, all 4 machines shot forward.

#4 was the first to reach him, sending out a fast kick to the superhero's helmet. With practiced ease, Saiyaman raised an arm to parry the attack, throwing the attractive humanoid into the air. The other woman had jumped up, intending to strike him from the air with all her weight behind the attack, but got her ally thrown into her instead. Meanwhile, #5 tried to slash at Saiyaman with his dagger at his front. Like #4's kick, the attack was easily parried, but having used both his arms, Saiyaman was left wide open for a punch to the gut from the pale-skinned #7.

However, instead of punching with his fist, #7 opened up his hand, revealing a small red ruby-like object, and instead simply held his hand on the superhero's torso. The moment #7's palm made contact Saiyaman could feel the energy being sucked out of his body. He grabbed #7's arm, turned around like a hammer slinger and tossed the hooded humanoid into the sky. The machine recovered very quickly though, stabilizing in the air, floating next to #4 and #6.

'_Looks like that guy with the hood is an energy absorber, better be careful._' Saiyaman thought, '_but it looks like these models can all fly, so I can take the fight into the sky. That should allow the people around here enough time to escape!_'

Determined to buy as much time as needed, Saiyaman slowly hovered up to the same altitude as the three robots, and then waited for them to attack. #5 was quick to join them in the sky, flipping his small weapon open and closed all the time.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Krillin realized what Saiyaman was doing.

'_Just now, he didn't even try to attack those 4. I'm pretty sure I would have been able to destroy those four in one go, it shouldn't even be a problem for him! And now as well, he's just waiting… of course! He wants us to evacuate the area!_'

As soon as the realization hit him, the former monk started running around, shouting at people to get away. Within mere minutes, the entire square was emptied of the few people brave, or foolish, to still be around. Videl and Sharpener did not move; Videl was watching the fight with her jaw nearly on the ground, wincing in pain every so often, and Sharpener was standing next to her, checking to make sure the young raven-haired fighter was all right.

'_I'll stay around for as long as I can, at the very least I could help him out by providing a distraction, and if that's not needed I can stop most of the attacks aimed towards the city, so Gohan can focus more on the fighting._' The monk decided, before moving over to Videl and Sharpener to check up on them.

Up in the air, Saiyaman was dodging another series of very well coordinated combination attacks made by the androids.

XxX

#18 had pulled all three of the girls into the café where they had been drinking some coffee, to lead them away from the panicking mass. Several other people had also tried this idea, so the place was reasonable full. The TV was on and within minutes, there was an emergency broadcast.

The images themselves were recorded by several security cameras and orbital satellites, which mixed together to give a very detailed view of the entire area and the fights that were happening. As soon as she saw who the culprits were, #18 became very nervous. She knew those androids… and some of they would be too much for Krillin to handle alone, although she thought that Gohan would probably be able to defeat them without too much trouble.

Just then that Videl girl, who Gohan had been hanging out with, appeared at the scene and the entire café seemed to be filled with some relief. #18, although she was the only one, didn't release any tension, instead building it up.

'_That foolish girl won't stand a chance against them! She's only an ordinary human; those androids were designed to kill Goku!_'

Just as she had predicted the girl was fighting a losing battle against the gorilla-like #1. As the fight continued and the girl's state became worse, the people in the café also started to become more and more frightened. Even when, through some strange miracle, the raven-haired teenager found the energy to counterattack again and almost instantly destroyed #1, they didn't seem relieved at all.

'_Guess they do understand that this situation is bad. #1 was the weakest of the Series 2_' #18 had already reached for her cell, planning to call Krillin and tell him what she knew, when her husband and the other teenager suddenly appeared and stopped #2 and #3. Most of the people were confused about the appearance of the two, but when she saw Krillin, #18's body relaxed a little. He would be able to hold off those two wimpy machines with both hands tied behind his back if he wanted too.

Again #18's prediction was dead-on correct. Neither of the two androids could connect with her husband, even when they teamed up on him. The combat prowess of the small man seemed to surprise almost everyone that was watching, but no one more then Erasa, Bra and Marron. The three were staring with open-mouthed amazement as Krillin toyed around, buying time.

And then, just as Videl was about to be attacked again, Gohan finally arrived, fully dressed in his stupid outfit. At once, the entire place burst into loud cheers, everyone raising a fist and shouting out that Saiyaman had arrived. Their enthusiasm only increased when Saiyaman easily destroyed #2 with one punch. Although the cameras didn't focus on him, #18 could also see Krillin quickly disabling #3.

When Krillin started moving, helping people evacuate the area, she knew it was safe to inform him of who they were fighting. With Gohan there, even if he was dressed up like that, nothing could happen in those few minutes that they were talking.

The phone had barely ringed once, when he answered it.

"**Hey honey, you know who or what we're fighting?**" he asked, obviously knowing why she was calling.

"Yeah, I do." #18 replied. "It's the Series 2 androids, the same series that I belong too. They were created after Goku had inflicted a lot of damage to the Red Ribbon army, and are all at different stages of production, some of them are various experiments for Energy use in combat. The more basic models don't have the ability to use energy; it took Gero quite some time to figure it out, so some of them have some alternatives. They're also pretty weak compared to us, since most of them were based on Goku at certain levels. All of them were discarded however, because Gero didn't want them to have any free will. With the previous androids, the free will aspect is what turned some of them against him, #8 especially."

She paused for a few seconds, gaining her breath. Krillin in the meantime, answered her.

"**Yeah, I remember Eigther. But did the lack of free will and personality prevent them from acting or something? Why weren't they used?**"

"Exactly that." #18 answered. "The lack of personality prevented them from accessing their powers, even though Gero tried various tricks up until #15. In #16 he programmed a new personality, but that also turned into a failure in his eyes. So he decided on a new experiment: us, #17, #19, #20 and me."

"**Well, I can understand while the madman was not so willing to grant you guys your personality. It didn't exactly work out for him…**"

"Yeah, but it looks like someone managed to find them and somehow activate them. They're-"

"**CRAP!**" Krillin suddenly shouted through the phone.

"What?!" #18 suddenly asked. "What's going on?"

"**#18, be careful! Two of them just slipped past g- ehn, Saiyaman and now he has to chase them. The other 2 are following him as well, but they flew of in your direction.**"

"I'll be careful. You do the same."

"**Always. Love you.**"

Just as #18 closed her phone and placed it back in her pocket, a wall three buildings back exploded as something crashed into it.

As the smoke cleared up, #18 was one of the first to see what was going on; Saiyaman had been crashed into a building, most likely from a sneak-attack from behind, and had blown through several walls. Because she had optical sensors, instead of normal eyes, she could quickly change to a sort of thermal vision that allowed her to see through the smoke.

There were advantages to being an android sometimes.

Saiyaman had crashed through no less then four walls, one of which was a carrying wall. The green-clad warrior also noticed this himself, and quickly held his hands against the ceiling, stabilizing the building with his strength.

She didn't hear what it was he shouted, but she didn't really have to guess: he was telling the people who were inside the building to evacuate because he couldn't hold it up forever.

'_Guess that means it's time for the cavalry._' She thought with some amusement. '_Irony comes back to bite me in the ass. Now I have to fight my own kind, to ensure my family's survival._'

"Marron, Bra and Erasa," she said, her computer-memory allowing her to remember the blond teenager's name immediately despite only knowing her for about half an hour, "Get out of this café and hide somewhere along the street until I come back. Do NOT hide inside a building, stay somewhere you can easily run away from. I'll be back soon."

With that she ran out of the door, praying in her heart that her daughter would be safe from these things… these things that she had once counted as family.

When she entered the smoke she instantly shot up, flying because she knew no one could see her. Within seconds she had reached her former 'little sister,' the slutty #4. The brown-haired girl didn't bother to keep her guard up while Saiyaman was forced to hold up a building, so she was caught completely off guard as #18's fist slammed into her face.

With that action she had declared war on her old colleagues, and she entered battle with #4 and the knife-wielding #5, an android that she remembered was actually meant to fight like Krillin.

'_So I get to fight Gero's first attempt at making a woman and a pathetic imitation of my husband. __This is too easy__._'

With a smile, fueled more by irony then anything else, she engaged the two robots.

XxX

"**Would you mind repeating that again, commissioner?**" The mayor's voice sounded through the telephone. The Satan City Police Department commissioner, a man reaching his fifties with graying hair and a body that showed he enjoyed his lunch a bit too much, was on the phone with the mayor of Satan City in his office.

It had already taken him five minutes to finally reach the mayor by phone, but now that he had reached the city leader, the man was very stubborn.

"As I said Mr. Mayor, Saiyaman has alerted us to a very big and potent threat and requested that we evacuate the city to ensure the safety of the citizens. Such an evacuation is a state of emergency and I need your approval before being allowed to take action. That's why I'm calling you."

From the day that the mayor had been appointed, nearly 2 years ago now, the man had always done things his own way. He often ignored the advice of people who where below him and because of that his relationship with other department heads, or people like the commissioner, was shaky at best. Although his way of work was certainly… unique, it had failed as often as it had succeeded.

"**So you expect me to approve of the evacuation of the city, meaning that thousands of people will have to leave all their possessions behind simply because one masked punk told you to do so?**" the politician repeated.

"That's the gist of it, yes, but I doubt that Saiyaman is a punk. He's saved the people of this city more often then anyone else, except maybe Videl. I've come to trust his judgment, he's never been wrong before, and I think that if he says it's serious then I'll believe him."

"**I refuse it.**" the mayor answered determined. "**I will not empty this city on the request of one man, who I still think we can't trust, and force people to leave behind their possessions for the criminals. We will **_**not **_**evacuate, am I clear commissioner?**"

"Inescapable." The commissioner answered with a sour face. He was about to speak up again, attempting to convince the mayor otherwise, when there was an explosion behind him. Dropping the phone he was holding, he quickly turned around.

There was no burst of light or fire, so it wasn't really an explosion. It was more like annihilation.

'_But what was it then?_' he questioned, before seeing the large amount of smoke rising up from the other end of the city. '_That's where those fifteen nutcases are.' _He realized quickly._ 'It must be Saiyaman and those… those things fighting._'

He had difficulty seeing what was going on because of the distance, but he was pretty sure he saw two figures floating above the houses. He didn't see Saiyaman rising up to face then, which did not do his heart any good.

Crashing back into his chair, there was only one thought racing through his head.

'_Where's Hercule…he might be the only one capable of helping Saiyaman fight __this threat to our city__._'

But the world champion was in Africa for the week, Congo precisely, to help the people there rebuild their houses after a raging inferno had destroyed a village. It was one of the odd times that Hercule Satan worked together with Styring Behersk and his foundation to help people out.

XxX

It had taken ten minutes for the building that Saiyaman was holding to empty. Ten long and painful minutes; his shoulders, arms and back where complaining about the strenuous activity of holding up several tons of stone, metal and other material, while tens, maybe hundreds of people ran around always shifting the weight. And aside from that there had been two androids, the energy absorber and the large woman, that had attacked him for the first few minutes. Their punches hadn't hurt much, his muscles formed an armor that was far stronger then anything they could penetrate, but it still caused him to shift his own weight a little each time.

Oddly enough, #7 didn't even try to absorb the superhero's energy again until two minutes had passed. But he only had time to draw a minimal amount of the half-Saiyan's energy, before he had to leave because of the fight that was going on outside.

#18 was fighting against the other two androids and winning easily, yet she seemed unable to finish them off for some reason. Still, her fight had bought enough time for the building to be emptied. He widened his sense of energy and, satisfied that there was no one in the immediate surrounding of the building, he released the carrying wall, shot a small blast of energy through the ceiling and floor to destroy the walls above and beneath him, and shot out through the hole he had created. As he had thought, the building collapsed almost as soon as he had left it. His blasts had done its work though: the building collapsed inward, making it fall into itself rather then collapse outside and destroy other buildings.

But, of course, some of the debris fell into the streets, blocking some passages off. He didn't feel anyone underneath the rubble, so he returned his attention to the fight, even if he would be unable to see what was going on: the collapse had caused another wave of thick smoke.

#18 found him as soon as he left the building and she quickly updated him on the situation.

"Someone's upgraded them." she said as she looked around. "They don't show up on heat-vision, radar, sonar, night vision or anything other then normal eyesight. I'm as blind as you are right now, but they can still locate us. They kept attacking me from somewhere I couldn't notice when I tried to finish one of them off. They can keep this smoke up for a long time, mainly thanks to #5: he can shoot all sorts of rockets from his arms, including smoke-rockets."

"I see." The superhero said, "Thank you ma'am, now I must ask you to leave the area as well." Despite the fact that they were covered in smoke, both flying several tens of meters above the ground and there was no-one around, Saiyaman spoke as he normally did: a loud voice, several octaves higher then Gohan's voice.

#18 knew what was going on, so she didn't comment on it. There were more important matters to attend to and she was worried about Marron. She started her decent, stepping out of the fight, when suddenly #4 shot past her. Not wasting any chances, #18 grabbed her ankle of the young woman and made a slashing motion with her hand. Powered by her energy, it formed a blade that cut straight through the brown-haired beauty. The two halves disabled, too damaged to function, crashed back to the ground just before #18 landed on it.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Saiyaman had restarted fighting the remaining three androids. Despite only dodging attacks and making feints, he was pushing back all three androids, slowly returning to where they had started.

XxX

As he sat in his office, his eyes focused on the television screen, the police commissioner's mind was racing; Saiyaman had obviously been right in saying that the police was no match for these… things. Yet, the mayor would not yield, staying true to his earlier statement.

He would not empty the city because Saiyaman asked it and even now, when an entire office had collapsed because of the fight, he refused to agree. He said, like Hercule would have said, that it must have been some sort of trick: the building must have been weak, or they had placed bombs there earlier, or something else. Even knowing that the enemy that was assaulting the city was actually a group of robots instead of humans, he did not agree. If anything, the mayor was a very steadfast man: once he made up his mind, there was no persuading him.

'_Goddamn stubborn politicians._' The commissioner cursed in his mind. '_But I can't simply ignore what he said; it'd lose me my job at best. I could just as well be __sent__ to prison for the rest of my life, with my entire family suffering for my decision. There's nothing I can do without his approval. Even if they are tricks, which I sincerely hope, it doesn't mean that there's no danger at all. Tricks or not, people do not survive a building crashing with them inside it!_'

There was only one thing that slightly eased his mind, no matter how selfish; his family was living in the other side of Satan City, and Saiyaman seemed able to hold the fight where it was now. The satellite images shown on the news showed that he had been attacked in his back once, which eventually resulted in the destruction of a building, but other then that he was still in control. In fact, it looked like he had managed to destroy another of the vile machines while they were invisible in the smoke.

'_That's good._' He desperately thought. '_Maybe he is able to defeat them all, maybe he was simply overestimating them… he might be able to destroy them without any more collateral damage. He HAS to defeat them without too much damage; otherwise more people will die for sure. And I can't do ANYTHING about it…_'his nails, pushing against his palm as he made a fist in frustration, suddenly managed to draw blood from his hand: he had been clenching them much stronger then he had thought.

'_Please, let Saiyaman succeed…_' he prayed inside his head, remembering for the first time in years that the people had once believed in an entity they called God. '_Please, let him defeat those things and save the people of this city. Please, let nothing happen to my family, even though they are so far away from the fighting. Please, protect the people of this city. Please, God, if you exist at all, please answer my prayers. I am unable to help them, I cannot order my men to do what has to be done, I cannot order them to evacuate the city without permission. It would break the laws I am sworn to uphold. It would be as far from justice as those criminals that threaten this city everyday. Please, there must be something that can be done._'

Suddenly, he stopped his internal monologue, realizing what he had just said. For some reason, he thought of a god right now, when he himself had only heard of the notion of religion when he was in high school, in history class. Why on earth did he think of such an entity in this chaos? And what was it he had said, something about it sounded so familiar, but he just couldn't place it.

Looking back at the television, he was just in time to see Saiyaman slam all three machines into the ground and land right next to them. Because they were back on the ground, a camera that was placed nearby was activated to show the footage. That image of Saiyaman, the sudden heroic image he saw of Saiyaman standing before three enemies he had just struck down, re-sparked his memory.

He knew exactly why his words sounded familiar. His mind flew back to the infamous Saiyaman interview that had been shown mere days before.

"**I won't do anything about them. I have been doing what I have done so far because I believe that what I do is the right thing to do. There are many rules, protocols and loopholes in the law, which would sometimes ask people not to do what is right. No, I believe there is nothing wrong with the law as it is, but people must learn not to life blindly by following it. The law is an important way to keep order and rule in the world, but sometimes a person must rely on his own ability to judge situations and act on his morals. Sometimes, doing the right thing may not always mean doing the lawful thing. However, those who follow this idea must be careful not to be over-eager and use that explanation as actions that are completely unlawful. There must always be a balance."**

'_Maybe…_' the Commissioner thought, '_maybe he's right. The law is stopping me from doing what I feel I have to do. It is stopping me from saving the lives of thousands of people from potential danger… but if I do, I will lose my job for sure and then what would happen to my family? I… I can't simply ignore that… but what can I do?_'

In that moment, when his desperation was at it's biggest, the commissioner suddenly realized why he thought of God and had prayed for His aid.

The last and biggest problem that he had been unable to solve, where he and his men were openly ridiculed, was concluded in a church, as if it was some cruel joke from God, by a soldier- no a warrior that had arrived as if by a miracle.

What was he had said that night?

"**The only reason you failed to act was because of sheer cowardice, hidden under the guise of 'carefulness.'"**

'_Were we really so bad? Are we really such cowards?'_

"**No, the police could have done a lot more, but they failed to act out of fear. Just as they do whenever there is trouble in this city."**

'_Was he right back then as well? It is fear that now holds me down, fear for myself and my family…_'

"**That officer was the only one who did not cower in the face of trouble; he was the only one who tried to do what he had too. And it is a shame that the slight amount of actual bravery has now been removed from this group of spineless cowards. Cowards, who would hide behind the back of a naïve teenager girl and a moron in a costume, because otherwise, they would actually have to do something."**

The scene was clear in the Commissioner's head, he remembered what had happened, he remembered that there was only one policeman, a rookie that had only joined the Force two months prior, that the Commander seemed to hold some respect for. Only one man among cowards. Only one man that did what he had to do.

'_He's right. He was right then and he's right now._' the commissioner finally decided. '_We ARE cowards, we do hide behind Saiyaman and Videl. And we do run from any threat we face…_'

Slowly the elderly man stood up from his chair, turning his back to the television that now showed the three machines back in action, attempting to hit Saiyaman. He turned his back on the picture on his desk, containing his wife and three children.

'_But… knowing you are a coward, knowing that you can, you must and you will improve… it is the first step towards becoming a man. so, let us now become men. We will be cowards no more!_'

More resolved then ever, the police commissioner activated his radio and turned the machine on to all frequencies; it would overcome any other radio signal in the city, blocking everything out until he was done with his announcement.

"Attention all officers. This is Commissioner Yolal speaking." He started. "I have special orders for all available agents, and request the aid of the firefighting-department and anyone else available. Your orders are as follows…"

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say. Looking at the picture on his desk one more time, his resolve strengthened.

'_I'm sorry for what this will do to our family._' He thought, '_but this is something that I have to do._'

"Evacuate the city!"

* * *

Surprise: it's a Christmas gift update.

Some #18 action to mirror Krillin's part in the last chapter and the police are actually going to do something this time around! Next chapter the fight between Saiyaman and the Androids will finally break lose in its full fury.

As always, much thanks to my beta Kushin-eX for beta-ing this chapter and telling me to burn, destroy and delete the first version of this chapter I had. It was awful.

Just to clarify something before you ask (as suggested by my Kushin-eX):

In the TI universe there are no religions anymore (this has been shown in two scene's so far, the last one of this chapter being the most prominent) yet Krillin has been trained as a Monk. Monk's are priests who train martial arts as a form of meditation to gain spiritual control. In the TI universe, when the religions fell the people still held on to some parts of the religion. The training was one of them and they kept the name of monks, it's become more of a fighting discipline then a religious title.

Just wanted to clarify that before you all started to wonder why I missed that.

and to answer saiyan prince1's question:

Yes, Android 13 is the same as he is in the movie (big guy, with silver hair and a whole lotta muscle). aside from that, #14 is also the same (big chinese guy with silver skin). even android 15 from the movie appears, but he's been removed to #12. #15 is the strongest android of this group and an OC of mine, as are almost all other androids in this fight).

Merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Lucifer-Allheart, posting for the last time this year.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ or anything related to it. If i did, then the Great Saiyaman Saga would have taken a hell of a lot longer.

* * *

Once again, Bulma found herself with her arms around a saiyan she loved with her whole heart as she watched the television in awe, shock and horror. This time, however, her arms where around her eldest child and only son, Trunks, while her husband stood a little behind the bench with his arms crossed.

The news-report had come in less about an hour ago, but neither Vegeta nor Trunks had paid any real attention to it until Krillin had showed up to interfere. If Krillin was there, that meant that Bra was also there. And if Bra was anywhere near trouble, both males would be racing out of the door to save her, regardless of the consequences.

'_Or at least, that's what I'd thought._' the Blue-haired genius told herself as her son sat in her lap. Upon listening to what exactly was going on, Trunks had been ready to fly to Satan City in a new speed record, but Vegeta had stopped him. Vegeta had, for once, acted very calmly and rational where Bra was involved. He had told Trunks that Krillin obviously had no problems dealing with the android, so there was no need for them to get involved. After the scolding from his father, Trunks hadn't made another mention of going to help, although he couldn't sit still either.

'_Odd how Vegeta isn't reacting at all._' The rich heiress suddenly realized. '_Before, he'd fly off the handle if she even came back home with a __split end__. Maybe it's one of those over-protective-father-things that only happen with really small stuff? Or maybe there's another reason?_'

"Dad!" Trunks suddenly shouted, pulling his mother out of her thoughts. "Look! Gohan is in trouble! NOW should we go and help?!"

"And tell me Trunks; what do you intend to do when you arrive?" Vegeta asked, stepping closer to the couch. "If, as you say, the Eldest Spawn of Kakarot is actually having genuine problems fighting these things, what can you do? Do you believe you are strong enough to fight an opponent that he can't defeat? Trust me; Bra is as safe as she can be right now. The Brat won't let anything happen to her, and aside from that, that Shorty and his Walking Bucket of Bolts are also there to protect her."

"N-no dad…" the second-oldest half-saiyan said after a second. "But… but you can! You're even stronger then Gohan is, you could help him can't you?"

"Yes, I can." The Prince answered very shortly. "But unlike you, I know he doesn't need any help. He has, despite what it looks like, total control over this fight. He is not even transformed but those androids he's fighting are hardly able to touch him. He's making it look like he's in trouble to buy time. Bah, what a pathetic excuse. He should just blast them all and be done with it!"

"Gohan is really only making it look like he's in trouble?" Trunks asked in awe and surprise.

"Yeah, if your father says so." Bulma answered. "But there's a good reason why he's buying time. He wants the people to leave the area before he fights. Because, in case you forgot Vegeta, most normal humans can't survive explosion that destroy half a city!"

"I know that Woman! But if he destroyed them before they could do any damage, there would be no harm done either. It's a different strategy to use and I prefer being on the offensive. It's much more effective to have a preemptive strike on your enemy."

"So, we're going to attack them!" Trunks suddenly interrupted. "That'll give us the element of surprise and a preemptive strike for sure!"

'_Smart kid! Just like his mom._' Bulma silently complimented her boy.

"No we won't." the simply reply came again. "Listen to me boy, if there's one person on this entire planet who does not need help in a fight it's that brat. Let him fight till his heart's consent and don't interfere unless he asks it. Do you understand?"

"…Yes dad." The young prince answered reluctantly.

But as Trunks turned to watch the screen again, he didn't see what his mother saw; Vegeta still stood with his arms crossed, but the blue-haired genius was sure she saw him shaking. His arms where trembling, but it wasn't until she saw the way the Saiyan Royal Prince looked at the TV screen.

'_Of__ course._' She realized. '_He wasn't just telling Trunks off… he was telling himself that he shouldn't interfere either… he's trying to stop himself from joining into the fight for some reason._'

When Vegeta caught her eye, he didn't even try to hide his feelings from her. He never did. The arrogant Saiyan Prince was many things, but he was never a liar and he always shared everything with his wife. After a nod from her husband, Bulma turned her eyes back to the screen.

'_Don't mess this up kid._' She mussed as she continued to watch the fight. '_Vegeta's trusting you with his most beloved possession in the universe._'

XxX

"Sir, the evacuation is going along smoothly so far." The assistant reported quickly. "When will you be leaving the office?"

"As soon as the entire city has been cleared." Commissioner Yolal answered. "You can clear out before then if you wish. Have you alerted your boyfriend?" he asked. It was always best to act calmly in situations that would result in total chaos otherwise.

"No, I didn't have to." The assistant replied. "He's out of town for the weekend, he's visiting his sister over at West City."

"I see. That's good, at least you don't have to worry about his safety." Yolal responded. "Are the area's around Saiyaman cleared already?"

"Yes, they where the first to be cleared." His assistant quickly said. "The police, along with the firefighters and a surprising number of civilians helped clear the area in less then five minutes as you had ordered. Most people have left the area, and we're emptying the hospitals right now. With all the ambulances, police-cars and civilian help it shouldn't take more then another fifteen minutes before the entire city's been cleared."

"Very good, so that means Saiyaman will have the all-clear?"

"Yes sir, he won't have to worry about anyone else in the city, and the immediate area around him is, as far as we can tell, completely cleared."

"Would they need you around to supervise more of the evacuation?" the sudden question surprised the young assistant.

"Most likely not, sir. Why do you ask?"

"Because if they don't, I will order you to leave this office and this city right away. I don't want another young life to be lost, especially one that holds as much promise as yours."

"I know sir, but in that case my answer is yes, they will need me to supervise the last of the evacuations. I won't leave until this entire city has been emptied, and that includes this office."

Yolal looked surprised at the show of determination from the twenty-four year old officer, but didn't react at first. Before he could say anything, the phone suddenly started ringing. A quick look at the number-screen showed that it was the mayor calling, as the Commissioner had already expected.

"I appreciate that son, I really do. But would you please step outside for a minute?" he asked his assistant. As soon as the young man turned around, Yolal opened his desk drawer and pulled out his service weapon. It wasn't anything special, just the exact same firearm that every other police officer carried, but it held some memories for him. Without hesitation he aimed the weapon and pulled the trigger.

The ringing of the phone died instantly.

Still standing in the door, the assistant turned around to identify the source of the loud noise. His eyes moved between Commissioner Yolal, the gun in his hands and the remains of his phone. He didn't speak up, but the look in his eyes told Yolal enough. After a second or so, Yolal spoke up.

"Jan, forget this ever happened."

Jan looked the commissioner in the eye for a second before he replied.

"Forget _what_ ever happened sir?"

At that, even Yolal had a small smile as he answered.

"Good answer."

XxX

#18 had quickly returned to the trio of scared girls, who where coughing badly by the time she arrived; they, like almost everyone else in the area, had been caught in the dust cloud that followed after the collapse of the building. Grabbing the hands of Marron and Bra, #18 quickly led the girls away from the other people. She wanted them away from the chaos that the others where creating.

As they where moving away from the chaos, the group of girls ran into none other then Krillin with Sharpener following close behind him. Videl was being carried piggyback by her blond friend and she didn't look happy with it.

"Good, you're still safe." Krillin said, breathing out in relief. "We've got a problem though, the only road out has been closed by that building collapsing. Unless we walk right past the fight or risk climbing over the debris there's no way we're getting out of here."

"What!" Erasa shouted from besides Sharpener. Apparently the teenage blond had run over to her friends as soon as they had appeared. "Then that means we're trapped! What're we going to do? We'll never get out of here in one piece! We're like sitting ducks!"

"Erasa, be quiet!" Sharpener suddenly barked, visibly annoyed and on edge. "Krillin's found a good hiding area a little ways back; we'll go there and stay there. We'll be hidden from sight well enough to avoid being detected. And in the meantime, Saiyaman will take care of those freaking Tin Cans."

Unnoticed to the teenagers, Sharpener's insults managed to get a twitch in #18's eyebrows.

'_Why does everyone always call androids a tin can? We're not made out of tin!_' she silently mused.

"Anyway, let's go. Follow me." Krillin said as he turned around and started running back the way he'd come. Within a minute, they reached the hideout Sharpener had mentioned. It was formed by a set of very tall and heavy-looking pieces of debris, forming a rough circle in the street. The rocks formed a nice wall nearly twelve meters high, and two meters thick. One of the stones had even fallen on top of the others, forming a roof of sorts.

All in all, it looked far too good to be a 'coincidence' to #18's eyes.

Sharpener quickly moved in through a hole between the walls, showing Erasa and the girls how to get in. #18 remained standing next to Krillin.

"How long did it take you to 'find' this little fortress?" she asked, pulling the word find out to let him know she was on to his game.

"About twenty second." The monk answered. "I had to get away from the kid, told him I was going to scout out ahead. As soon as I was out of his sights, I sped up to full speed and quickly made this thing. It should hold long enough for Gohan to de- to win." he corrected himself. He had, in fact, been about to say that Gohan would destroy the androids, but he worried that his wife might take that the wrong way.

"Let's hope so." #18 said as she moved through the opening, joining the others in their hideout.

Sharpener was in a corner, gently placing Videl against a flat wall. Erasa was right next to him, already fretting over the raven-haired fighter and crying while saying she'd been so scared. Bra and Marron where right next to them and they both looked frightened. #18 quickly moved over to the two girls, bent down and looked them in the eye.

"Where'd Daddy go?" Marron asked, hugging her mother, trying to bury her face in #18's shirt.

"Daddy's going to see if there are any other people that need to stay here. He'll be right back."

"I want my Daddy!" Bra suddenly cried, tears leaking from her eyes. "Daddy'll make them stop, he'll make them all go away!" #18 quickly extended her arm, pulling the blue-haired girl closer to join in the hug. As soon as Bra was also hiding her face in #18's shirt, the android checked up on the teenagers.

Erasa was still completely unharmed, and Sharpener only sported a few bruises, along with exhaustion. It was Videl that was really in a bad state. Whenever she thought no one was looking, the girl's face gained a pained look, especially if she moved her back.

"Hey you, long-hair." she suddenly announced, addressing Sharpener. "Krillin's out trying to find anyone else who needs to use this shelter; go and help him."

Sharpener looked like he was going to argue for a second but, after taking a look at his two friends, turned and left the small bunker.

"Erasa, you try calling Gohan. See if you can find out if he got away before the fighting started or not." He quickly called before slipping between the walls. Erasa, relieved to at least have something to do, quickly reached for her purse, intend of grabbing her cell-phone. But instead she was suddenly reminded that her purse was still in the café they had fled earlier. She didn't have her cell-phone, or anything else, with her anymore.

At that exact moment, #18 suddenly appeared next to the two teenagers, the two young girls still clutching to her pants.

"What's wrong?" the blond mother asked, addressing the crime fighter.

"Nothing big, I've got a couple bruises but nothing important. I'll be fine" Videl bluffed, but as soon as she was done talking she moved her back and let out a gasp of pain.

"Like hell you'll be fine." #18 said, surprising everyone by her rough language. "You've hurt your back somehow haven't you?"

Videl looked into #18's eyes and, knowing that she couldn't bluff her way out, nodded once. Within a second #18 had grabbed her shoulder, yanked her forward and lifted the back of Videl's shirt. The android instantly saw the damaged piece of underwear that was stuck in the teenager's back, drawing blood.

"What do you think you-AARGH!" Videl tried to talk, but midway through her sentence, #18 had pulled the bra-clip out of Videl's back. The unexpected action, along with the sudden burst of pain, caused even the tough Videl to cry out in pain.

"Sorry about that, but if I didn't pull it out it could have infected you and then you'd have real problems." #18 said, still holding Videl's shirt up. "Now, don't move."

"Wait! What're yo-" before Videl could even ask her question, #18 had gone to work. Within seconds she had torn the straps of Videl's bra, causing the undergarment to fall from Videl's chest to the ground.

"Why'd you do that!" the shocked crime-fighter shouted.

"It'd have only gotten in the way otherwise, it wasn't attached anymore. Unless, of course, you'd have preferred to undress first while in this chaos?" #18 replied with heavy sarcasm.

Videl, still surprised by what #18 had done so suddenly, didn't answer. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the woman.

The silence in the makeshift hideout wasn't broken until Krillin and Sharpener returned, three minutes later. By some unspoken agreement, none of the females mentioned the events. Krillin was the first to break the silence.

"Well, everyone else is more willing to take a chance by climbing over the debris then staying out over here. Either that, or they already got away before the roads where blocked. There's no one else around here."

With a few steps, the monk closed in on his wife, and spoke to her in whispers, "With me near here, Gohan won't be able to sense the others through my energy, and he'll fight without holding back. It might get tight, but I'm going to try and place an energy barrier around this hideout to stop some of the smaller explosions and other stuff. You keep an eye on the kids."

"Got it."

"Hey Erasa, did you call Gohan yet?" Sharpener suddenly asked as he sat down besides the normally cheery blond.

"No, my phone's in my purse and my purse's still in the café. Can I use your cell?"

"Nope." The boxer replied, "It was in my pocket, but it was crushed when I fought that robot earlier. It's no good." With that, Sharpener dropped his head, thinking of any other way he could make sure that Gohan was all right.

At that moment, a sudden announcement shocked the small group.

XxX

"**Attention Saiyaman, this is Police Commissioner Yolal, speaking, we have successfully completed the evacuation of Satan City. I repeat, Satan City is now completely evacuated. It's all yours now, so go show those abominations what you're made of. Good luck! Commissioner Yolal, out**."

As soon as the message was heard, sounding out of every radio and speaker in the city, a relieved smile appeared on Saiyaman's face. He jumped back from his current exchange with his mechanical enemies, still fighting androids #5, #6 and #7, and gathered some more power. An instant later, the three machines where blown away as the superhero powered up.

Being the heaviest of the three, android #6 was the first to recover and quickly engaged the masked superhero in battle again. And, much like before, none of her attacks found its mark; the green-clad fighter was moving much to fast for the massive imitation-woman to follow. But, unlike before, Saiyaman was now returning the attacks. His super-strength easily forced #6's mechanical skin to bend inward, and within seconds she no longer represented a humanoid form. At that exact moment, the other two androids rejoined the fight, but they where also quickly repelled.

A punch in the face stopped the energy-absorbing #7 dead in his tracks, critical damage to his optical sensors, while a spinning kick send the small, knife-wielding #5 crashing into a nearby building. Deciding that the absorbing android was the more dangerous of the two androids still in the air, Saiyaman grabbed him and quickly threw him to the ground. The impact caused a decent-size crater to be formed, but Saiyaman wasn't finished yet. He quickly accelerated downward, moving much faster then would be possible by gravity alone, and kicked the mechanical leech with both his feet at the time of his landing. The attack was strong enough to crack all the nearby concrete, toppling several streetlights and causing a large dust cloud to form.

When the cloud cleared up a bit, the remains of android #7, the first energy-absorbing android, could clearly be seen; he had been torn to pieces, unable to survive the powerful attack, and would not be able to function anymore.

Floating some distance away, the other androids where still watching.

"#15, my calculations indicate that #5 and #6 will not be able to destroy this target." the small #12 said. "I suggest adjusting the current plan of action to increase our possibilities of victory."

"I must agree with #12," #10 added, "It seems that Saiyaman, The Great, was still not revealing all his fighting capabilities. We must adjust our plan if we are to succeed."

"Yes, you are correct." the green-haired woman concluded, her eyes glowing again. "#13 and #14 shall remain with me, to observe, analyze and supervise the battle; all the others will assist #5 and #6 in overcoming Saiyaman, The Great."

"Affirmative." 7 different mechanical voices said. At once five other androids shot forward to join the battle, while #13, #14 and #15 spread themselves around to gain a clear sight of the battle to be.

Within seconds they where upon the cape-wearing warrior and, because they couldn't be detected, Saiyaman was instantly smashed against a building. The impact was so strong that it shattered all the glass, causing to rain down past the half-breed.

Being able to look up, Saiyaman could clearly see his new enemies.

The first one he could see was a pink-skinned and orange-haired android that wore his hair in a Mohawk. His clothing consisted of jeans that, like his skin, where a light pink. The Red Ribbon symbol was placed on his left pocket, much like some of the fancier dress-labels sometimes did. Unknown to Saiyaman, this was the android that had killed a young woman just before he had arrived. This was Android #8 and he was the one who had scared Videl more then any of the others.

Next to #8, stood another android that was dressed in a similar way to the superhero himself. The machine's skin was a deep green, similar to Piccolo, and he wore a dark green skiing goggle over his eyes. Completing the weird set-up where a white, loose t-shirt that connected to a black cape and bright yellow pants beneath them. Obviously, someone who was either color blind, drunk or both had designed his clothing. His black cape bore the red ribbon mark, now flowing dramatically in the winds. This was android #9.

Android #10 stood on #8's other side, a medium sized black woman. Her hair was held in a large Afro, which looked rather good on her. While she held several bracelets on each of her arms, along with a rather expansive looking necklace, her clothing was not all that odd. A sleeveless shirt, with a small dip to show her collarbones and sternum and a short. Both pieces of clothing a pale white, in contrast to her dark skin. A bandana around her hair held the symbol of the army she belonged to.

Floating just above the other three was the well-dressed android #11. Much like #9, his skin was green, although this tone was much more pleasant on the eyes. All in all, he looked much like the Space Pirate Bojack, when he had still been fully dressed. But instead of the many different layers of clothing the ancient pirate wore, #11 was pleased with a normal button-up, leaving the two top buttons undone to show some more green skin. Below the shirt he wore fancy-looking pants. Both pieces of clothing were in the traditional style of the Red Ribbon Army,

Finally, android #12 was floating a bit behind the others, taking a sip from his flagon. He was just as small as the knife-wielding #5 but his skin was a deep purple. On his small body, he wore a yellow trench coat, obviously made for his size, and a ridiculous looking green hat.

Without the ability to sense their real power, like he was used to, Saiyaman had no way to gauge which of these androids was the strongest. The only thing he knew was that the two he had already been fighting before where the weakest androids still remaining. As the rain of glass finally stopped, #5 and #6 had recovered enough to join their comrades.

Taking one good look at his seven opponents, Saiyaman took a fighting stance, raising his left arm in front while keeping his right arm at his waist, before shooting forward to fight the mechanical monsters that threatened to destroy Satan City.

At last, Saiyaman's battle had begun.

* * *

A/N: finally, next chapter will have (almost) none-stop DBZ action, Saiyaman VS the Androids. I had to make some minor adjustments to my initial ideas for this battle, but so far I like all of it.

Preview: All hell breaks loose in Satan City as the battle between Saiyaman and the Androids finally begins. But when all the androids finally join battle, can Saiyaman still stand up to them? or will the mighty hero fall to these manufactured fiends?

As always, much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for checking out this chapter and always being up for debate on how to do the next couple scenes.

Please review and tell me what you thought.

To Mr. Emperor: no I will not be using the anthropomorphic animals from Dragon Ball mainly because they hardly ever appeared in DBZ. This story is all about humans and humanoids.

To Makai Alexa: all in due time, you'll see Gohan as a scientist later on in the story.

To Spirit Hellfire: Kami and Dende are not gods, they are simply an extraterrestrial race (the Nameks) that stands guard over the planet Earth to ensure the safety of the planet from forces that mankind is not ready to deal with. The fact that just about every enemy from DBZ is stronger then Kami and Dende (not to mention that Kami died once) should be enough proof that they are not gods. Kami's name may cause confusion, but it's just that: a name.

If you're still reading now, please hit the review button and tell me what you thought. next chapter will be out in another month.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: still don't own DBZ… and I still wish I did.

* * *

Less then a second after Saiyaman had charged forward, he was in between the androids. The cape wearing android #8 was the first to get punched in the face, and the machine was instantly thrown back. The android barely managed to stabilize himself in the air before he was smashed into a nearby building.

In the same instant, all six other androids charged at their nemesis. Saiyaman easily evaded a fist that was aimed to his face, but was unable to counter because he had to block two different kicks. At the same time, a third kick was aimed at his back. Unable to see the attack, Saiyaman couldn't evade it. In the small opening that was granted because of the hit, the small #12 suddenly descended on him from above, his hands in a position for a hammer strike.

Instead, however, the purple robot was kicked away by one of Saiyaman's legs. Moving with his previous attack, Saiyaman span around, getting out of the circle that four of the androids had formed around him. But at that the same time, #8 and #5 attacked him from the side, preventing his escape. The superhero easily blocked their attacks, but was once again stopped from fighting back by sheer number. This time, the fancy-looking #11 engaged the half-saiyan in combat. At the same time, all the other androids drifted back a little, giving Saiyaman some breathing space.

Before he could gain an advantage in the one-on-one combat though, all the other androids started shooting him at once. Androids #6 started shooting various rockets from hidden latches on his arms and even the tips of his fingers, while all the other androids save #5 started shooting energy blasts. Within milliseconds the entire sky was alight with the gold-glowing orbs. Even in the fast-passed melee that the superhero was locked in, he could evade all the attacks with some ease. He didn't need to think overly much on how to dodge the energy blasts; it was a second nature to him.

But, as he lowered his altitude to evade yet another volley of dangerous energy blasts, Saiyaman realized something.

'_This tactic isn't getting me anywhere. These androids __are coordinating__ their attacks very effectively. They won't let me close in on any of th-_'

Saiyaman's line of thought was stopped short as one of the androids suddenly attacked him from behind. Not prepared to take the sudden hit, the superhero crashed straight into the ground, unable to recover his bearings in time. Quickly getting up and shooting forward, the caped fighter was still hit with at least a dozen powerful energy attacks.

There was one advantage to getting hit with the ranged attacks, though. The explosions covered him in smoke, which made it more difficult for the machines to target him. Along with his, near instinctive, evasive maneuvering, this allowed the part-human a small break.

But on the other hand, several of the energy attacks where going to leave bruises, while others would surely leave a nasty sting. Even the rockets fired by #6, under the current onslaught, where annoying and tearing his famed costume.

'_Ok, playing it __on the__ defensive isn't going to work when I'm outnumbered like this…_' Saiyaman thought as he evaded the explosion of a car to his left. '_If I keep evading their attacks and hoping for a chance to counter-attack safely, they'll destroy the entire city! I'll have to grind my teeth, bear it and charge them head-first._'

In one swift movement, the young superhero rose from the smoke and, bringing his two hands forward, released a powerful blast of energy. Android #11, still being the closest, was the attack's target, although it likely wasn't strong enough to finish the neat-looking machine. When Saiyaman saw that the green-skinned machine had captured the glowing attack, he turned around and made a beeline for another android. This time, the rocket-shooting, knife-wielding #4 was selected as a target.

'_Eliminate the weaker __ones __first so they won't get in the way. They might also have self-detonation devices of some sort that they could use._' He reasoned with himself.

As he made his way to the short opponent, however, Saiyaman's path was blocked by two other androids. The pink-skinned android #8 and the black female #10 suddenly appeared in the path of the crime-fighter, hands already glowing with energy. Not slowing down, Saiyaman instead raised his right hand and fired a blast of his own energy towards them. His one-handed blast collided with the two from the androids and resulted in a grand explosion, giving off blinding light and an infernal heat that no missile could ever hope to copy.

Not allowing himself to be distracted, the caped crusader flew right through the explosion, ignoring the heat and burns he was feeling, and slipped past the two now-stunned androids.

Unlike his two guards, #6 was not stunned from the blinding light, being protected by his shades, and saw the foe approaching. In retaliation, he threw his knife, emptying his hands for melee combat. Saiyaman narrowly dodged the thrown weapon, preventing any physical damage. But it did cut through parts of his green tunic and red cape, damaging his clothes even further.

Having closed in on the now unarmed opponent, Saiyaman quickly burrowed his fist in the machine's stomach. Even unable to feel pain, the machine was forced to double over or be ripped apart like #2 had been. The robot unable to move or counter for a second, Saiyaman kneed the baldy person in the face, causing quite severe damage. Raising his other hand to finish his opponent off, Saiyaman was suddenly kicked in the back, hard.

The small, purple #12 had sneaked up on him and was now, with the support of the recovered #5 and the green-skinned, cape-wearing #9, pummeling the crime-fighter. #12 kept on pounding the teenager's stomach, while the two larger androids kept kicking at Saiyaman's face. Knowing that the kicks to his head would wield greater effects, Saiyaman raised his hands to block their attacks and prevent his helmet from shattering. Aside from revealing his identity, the shattered glass could also damage his eyes. Without any muscles to protect them, his eyes formed one of the few vulnerable points on his body.

"RAARGH!"

With a roar, Saiyaman released a burst of energy from his body, pushing back his assaulters. Moving after the somersaulting androids, Saiyaman then closed in on the other caped fighter, #8. Quickly going to work, Saiyaman started pounding the much taller opponent, his fists raining down on the would-be stomach, only to be alternated with a kick every now and then. Just as Saiyaman decided it was time for the finishing blow, massive pain erupted from the back of his head as he was smashed onto the ground.

Android #11, still in perfect working order, had sneaked up behind the fighter to give him a hammer strike at the back of the head. Slightly disoriented by the blow, Saiyaman was unable to stop himself from crashing into the top of another building nearby. Not slowing down at all, the superhero crashed through all twenty floors before finally coming to a stop in the basement. Slowly getting up, standing on all fours for a few seconds, Saiyaman looked up at the way he had come.

'_That really hurt, those last couples of androids are pretty damn strong..._' he thought for a second as he stood up. Just as he stood, there was a large energy build-up above him as light erupted from the top of the building. The entire building was destroyed in seconds as one, or several, of the androids threw powerful energy attacks at it. Floating for a second before blasting himself up through the building, Saiyaman tried to fly out of the building before it exploded and buried him. Even he couldn't have a whole twenty-floor building crash on top of him and escape without problems.

The halfling burst out of the exploding building a second later, clothes torn from the explosion he had just escaped. As soon as he emerged, Saiyaman threw another energy blast at #11, but it was caught once again. Before he could do a follow-up and attack the android, however, pink #8 had grabbed Saiyaman's cape and pulled him back. Receiving a knee in the back, courtesy of the same android, Saiyaman could see what was going on higher in the sky. #11, rather then pushing the energy ball away, was draining it. Saiyaman quickly elbowed #8 in the face, forcing him to let go of the cape, and raised himself a bit.

'_Another energy absorbing android_' He realized, as his right hand was rising to his left shoulder. '_And with my earlier attacks, I must have given him plenty of energy to spend. Guess I have no choice._'

"No more playing around!"

Tearing off the green toga, the ruined red cape still attached to it, Saiyaman let the two precious pieces of cloth fall to the ground, before engaging his enemies once again.

XxX

Still sitting on their comfortable couch, Bulma was amused by the look on the face of her son. Ever since the police commissioner had given Saiyaman the all-clear signal, and that Gohan had begun fighting back, Trunks' jaw had dropped so far it was a miracle that it was still attached. Bulma had always known of Gohan's real fighting ability, she had even seen her godson in direct battle multiple times, so she wasn't as surprised as her son.

Just as Gohan made one of his own energy blasts collide with that of the androids, Trunks finally managed to find his voice again.

"Wow. Gohan's awesome!" he suddenly exclaimed. "I can see what you mean dad, there's no way Gohan would need help! He really was in complete control!"

"Hmpf, of course he was." Vegeta answered back. "You didn't honestly believe that one of the strongest warriors on this planet, no matter how laid-back he's become, would be overcome by some crappy machines as those?"

"Well, no of course not." Trunks hastily said, waving his arms in front of him. "But it's just that, I didn't think Gohan was holding back that much. He really is strong… And his fighting style is awesome too! Although it's nowhere near as good as yours dad!" he quickly added, glancing at his father.

"This fighting style he uses now is nothing like the one he used when he fought Cell." Vegeta suddenly said, eyes stuck to the screen, as Gohan emerged from an exploding building, his clothes torn, but his helmet still intact by some miracle. "The Brat's normal fighting style is to fight far more defensively then he's doing now, even when going on the offense. He's charging head-first into the enemy's attacks, it's nothing like him. If anything, he's fighting like Kakarot did. And that's not a compliment!"

"Wauw…" even more amazed then before, the lavender-haired youth turned his eyes back to the screen, not wanting to miss a second of the fight.

Because he was still completely absorbed in watching the fight, Trunks didn't see the knowing look that Bulma suddenly shared with Vegeta.

XxX

Before the green toga had even fallen from Saiyaman's body, he had already zoned out, moving too fast for normal eyes to see. At seemingly the same time, androids #8 and #10 were blasted away by an energy blast, clearing the path to the much-weaker android #6. While still charging toward #6, Saiyaman shot out two other energy blasts, catching #5 and #12 by surprise, and sending each of them flying some distance away.

With no-one in time to interfere, Saiyaman quickly chopped the former knife-wielder in the head and continued his blows from there. Instantly, he had cut through the strong metals that were used in the creation of the machine, and tore through the much finer workings that where inside it. The android, like its four predecessors, was instantly disabled.

Just as Saiyaman had finished his chop, #11 appeared behind him and caught one of the superhero's hands. Knowing that, if the absorber held on too long he'd be too exhausted to fight properly, Saiyaman quickly spun around and kneed the green-skinned machine in the face. In the moment of shock #11 let go of Saiyaman's hand, allowing the only biological fighter to continue his assault with a punch to the gut, followed by an energy blast in the face. Even if he could normally absorb energy-attacks, there was little he could do when they blew up in his face. The explosion had sent #11 flying back, crashing into a building where all the glass windows were instantly shattered by the impact.

The only android still around, android #9, quickly shot forward to engage the formerly caped hero in battle. Saiyaman quickly caught the android's left fist in his right hand, before sending out his own left in retaliation. The cape-wearing robot mimicked Saiyaman's action by capturing the gloved fist as well. Floating in mid-air, they started pushing against each other, raising their own power as much as they could.

Saiyaman was instantly covered in an aura of bright, white flames that seemed to erupt from his body as he increased his own power. The android, not having any normal body energy, lacked any fancy displays of power around him, but Saiyaman could feel the strength of #7's grip increasing. They hung animated on the skies for a second, before Saiyaman began pushing back the android. Having gained some momentum, the superhero, now wearing nothing but black and white; raised a knee and hit the android in the gut.

At that exact moment, Android #5 shot up from under the duo, head butting Saiyaman full in the face and freeing her caped brother. Floating backward a little, Saiyaman looked at #5 through his now cracked vizer. The large female android looked more then a little damaged from his previous energy attack. Her metal skin was destroyed at several places, along with pieces of her clothing being shred, to show some of the wires and metal plates that ran underneath her skin. But most noticeable was her sudden lack of a right arm; instead of the extremity, there was now nothing but some hissing and sparking wayward wires extending from her shoulder socket.

Checking himself in the reflection of a nearby building, Saiyaman quickly saw that he himself also wasn't looking too good either. His bodysuit had torn in several places, showing off bits of his skin, with a particularly large gash running over his right shoulder, revealing part of his cross-shaped scar. But his helmet was in a much better state then he could have hoped. The antennas had dropped off during the fight, and there were now cracks running all over the helmet, but it was still mostly intact. The only piece that had broken off so far was a piece of the black visor, making Saiyaman stare at one of his own, unguarded eyes.

Before he had a chance to wander his mind on the fact though, he was suddenly surrounded by all six remaining androids again. And, phasing in above the fight, he could see the three other androids that had so far refrained from entering the fight appear again as well.

"Saiyaman, The Great has even more combat prowess then initially estimated." #15 stated as the two large males at her side drifted forward. "The possibility of Saiyaman, The Great being our main target has been estimated to be a 80% possibility. Proceed with extreme caution. #13 and #14 will assist in the elimination of this biological entity."

At the command of #15, the two other androids shot forward and stopped their charge an arm's length, away from the outnumbered superhero. #13, the muscular man with long silver hair, was the first to break the sudden stalemate. He sent out two powerful energy blasts, which Saiyaman quickly evaded, before proceeding to throw energy attacks at such a blinding rate, that even Saiyaman could barely dodge them in time.

As he was circling around the area, attempting to get closer to the android, Saiyaman was not unaware of all the explosions that occurred around him. Buildings, streets, cars, homes, trees… everything was being destroyed indiscriminately. While still flying around, Saiyaman started firing back his own attacks, causing some mid-air explosions that devoured some of the other energy attacks. Before he could begin a proper counter though, he was suddenly grabbed from behind by two powerful, silver-colored arms. In the confusion of the explosions, #14 had snuck up behind their prey and held him in a strong bear-hug. At once, #10 and #12 were upon him again, mercilessly pounding him in the gut.

Still struggling against the powerful hold that was keeping his arms pinned, Saiyaman was helpless to fight off the assault, which only became worse when #11 appeared again, and joined in. Part of his face had been blown away, revealing the optical sensors that his eyes really were, but it didn't stop him from grabbing Saiyaman's face and quickly beginning to absorb his energy.

"AARGH!!!" letting out his fiercest battle cry yet, Saiyaman was covered in more white flames then ever before. Even while being held by #14, the Hero of Justice managed to push the three other androids back with his energy.

"GA-AA-AAARGH!" With a final effort, some of the buildings around them getting disintegrated by the amount of energy that he was releasing in the process, Saiyaman finally managed to break free of the iron grip. With a quick backhand, Saiyaman slammed the imitation of a large Chinese man into a nearby building before shooting up. Androids #11, #12 and #13 where hot on his tail, aiming to use their advantage against him.

'_Man, those last two are even stronger then almost all the others combined!_' Saiyaman realized. '_Guess I'll have to use my full power after all._'

Suddenly stopping, Saiyaman had a small element of surprise on his side as he quickly kicked #12 in the side, forcing him to collide with #13, and blasted the two into the another building. The building instantly exploded. Now alone with #11, Saiyaman quickly kicked the energy absorbed in the gut, before grabbing his shoulders and throwing him into yet another building. The force of the throw was such that #11 didn't stop, but flew right through the building, and four others behind it.

"GAAAAAARGH! Maximum Power!" Saiyaman shouted as the white flames around him grew to almost five times his body height. Almost instantly, his muscles grew a whole size, tearing his bodysuit even further. Yet, despite having powered-up further then before, Saiyaman didn't move at all. He was simply gazing down at the androids, his single onyx eye visible beneath the broken glass.

Knowing they would need all the power they could get, the remaining eight fighting androids waited until they where all back into the fighting, before they began charging forward.

The instant they had gathered, however, Saiyaman made his move. He quickly phased out, suddenly appearing behind android #13. A knee in the back ensured that the android was unable to interfere for a second, as a hammer strike to the face forced the mechanical menace to crash into the nearby mall. #12, who was right next to #13, lashed out but his fist only hit air. Saiyaman had already phased out and appeared behind #14. Before even the powerful black-haired enemy could react, Saiyaman had dropkicked the machine in the chest, causing him to crash into the mall, right on top of #13.

Phasing out once again, Saiyaman then kicked #8 in the back, before round-house kicking the pink-wearing murderer down to meet his two brothers. From there, Saiyaman moved on to #11, punching his optical sensor, so that the android would effectively be blind, before making him crash, chest first, into the mall as well.

#12, who had barely managed to pull back his fist after hitting Saiyaman's afterimage, was next. After a punch in the back of the neck, Saiyaman gave him a knee in the stomach, spun overhead and launched him into the, now thoroughly ruined, building. Androids #9 and #10 were punched at nearly the same time, crashing into each other. In the short delay that existed before they could react, Saiyaman had withdrawn from the fight and landed on the top of one of the remaining buildings.

"Take this! Kyaah!"

In a move inspired by Vegeta's Final Flash, Saiyaman brought forth both his hands, fingers pointing to the side, and let out a strong blast of energy. The green beam met with the two still stunned androids, forcing them into the mall as well. Instantly, the mall turned into a sea of light, with heavy smoke rising from it. Not being slowed down in the slightest, Saiyaman jumped up and continued his assault.

Grabbing his right wrist, more green beams were fired as the explosion of the mall kept growing in power. When the fifth blast had matched with the large dome, it was already covering two blocks.

"And now for the finisher! Saiya-Fire!"

Drawing back both his hands, Saiyaman released two more energy blasts; both green again, and threw them towards the green-glowing dome. It instantly exploded, destroying the entire mall and the two city blocks surrounding it.

Knowing that there was a good chance that the other androids were destroyed by his barrage, Saiyaman's eyes quickly scanned around for, what he assumed to be, the last android. Before he had a chance to find her though, #15 found him. Grabbing his feet from below, #15 started spinning the full-power hero around, before throwing him harshly into the ground. At almost the same time, three figures escaped from the explosion that the Saiya-fire had caused.

#14 made a beeline for Saiyaman, some damage still remaining from the energy blasts. His long, black hair was scorched, his Chinese fighting dress was torn in several places and the metal skin on his back was slightly molten. Still, it didn't seem to bother the muscular machine at all, as he jumped on Saiyaman as soon as he had the chance and started pounding him.

#13 was a bit more cautious then his companion; the explosion had cost him three digits of his right hand, along with his left thumb, and had caused quite severe damage to his legs as well. He stayed at a distance, allowing his auto-repair systems to fix some of the minor damage in his system. He wouldn't be able to fix his fingers, but at least he could stabilize his programming and regain some control over his legs.

#12 was, by far, the worst off from the surviving androids. Both of his legs were completely destroyed, part of his face had been blown off, his right arm had nothing remaining beneath the elbow and the iron metal around his torso had been punctured at multiple area's. Instead of charging forward, #12 stayed back and hid. In his current state, he would only be a nuisance: the enemy had already proven to be able to fight the purple machine in combat when he was intact. With only one arm remaining to fight with, he would no doubt get destroyed within a second. So #12 hid out of sight, gathering all the energy he could from his body's energy-creation systems and gathering them for an attack on Saiyaman.

Saiyaman, for his part, didn't allow #14 to continue the beating he was handing out. Instead, he managed to head butt the would-be Chinese and escaped from underneath his grip. At that moment, Saiyaman sensed a large build-up of energy to his left. Looking over to the area, he saw the trademark glow of an energy attack. Quickly flying over to the area, he could see #12 creating an energy orb in his remaining hand.

'_I see. When the energy leaves their body and becomes an attack, it is no longer protected by their skins and I should be able to sense it. That should be a big help._' Saiyaman realized as he shot a small and weak blast at #12. The attack hit its mark dead-on; it flew right into #12's own energy attack, destabilizing it and causing it to explode immediately. The purple android didn't even have time to move as he was completely obliterated by the explosion.

XxX

Krillin was holding Bra, thoroughly worried, as yet another explosion rocked through their makeshift hideout. He quickly glanced over at #18, who was sitting beside him, and then at the teenagers that were hiding with them. Videl had, miraculously, recovered enough to stand on her own, while Sharpener and Erasa wouldn't leave her side for a second. They were currently standing at the other end of the bunker, so Krillin risked whispering to his wife.

"How do you think Gohan's doing? He's putting up a hell of a fight, that's for sure."

"He shouldn't have any problems with any of the lower androids, even without transforming." She whispered back, making sure that none of the two children could hear. "The only ones who might give him some problems are #13, #14 and #15. #13 and #14 are about as strong as #17 and I are, while #15's design is nearly identical to #16's. But they shouldn't be a problem for the kid once he goes Super. They're nowhere near the kind of powerlevel that Cell had."

"That's good to hear. It would be terrible if Gohan had to go to his actual full power. He'd probably rather die then risk doing that here." the monk replied, mumbling more to himself then his wife.

# 18 glanced at him. "Why? There's no reason for him to be so afraid. He can control himself can't he?"

"Not completely." Krillin replied. "And I remember what happened the last time he fought as a Super Saiyan, and Gohan still knows what he did back then. He's still afraid of his own powers."

"That's foolish." #18 quickly judged. "But even so, there shouldn't be any need for him to use all of it. Even simply going to the first stage of Super Saiyan should be plenty to defeat these guys."

"That's good to hear." Krillin replied, looking through the cracks in the wall longingly.

'_Goku, I wish you __were__ here right now. Or maybe you Piccolo. Hell, I'd even wish Vegeta __were__ here. Anyone who could help Gohan fight of__f__ those androids would be welcome right about now._'

XxX

The small opening that had appeared as Saiyaman had blasted #12 to the scrapheap had allowed #15 to capture the Hero's head in a deadly lock, between the elbow and knee of the mechanical fighter. Protected from the impact by his helmet, however slightly, Saiyaman escaped without any serious damage and was quickly able to turn around and hit the green-haired woman in the face. From there, Saiyaman moved on to a kick at #15's side, but his leg was caught as soon as he made contact and was trapped to #15's body with one of her arms. The other arm was quick to shoot out and hit the half-saiyan full on the nose. Unable to fly backwards because of his captured leg, Saiyaman's head flew back some distance, only to come back flying up courtesy of a kick to the back from #15.

Now that Saiyaman was temporarily stunned, #15 released his leg and suddenly dropped her altitude. Her two brothers, #13 and #14, were flying full-speed to the still motionless hero and simultaneously punched him in the gut so hard that the figures of their fists could be seen on his back. As Saiyaman flew back through yet another four buildings, blood was freely flowing from his mouth and nose.

Getting to his feet before he had even stopped moving, Saiyaman jumped up and punched the surprised #13 in the face, before kicking him away to make close and personal contact with the concrete road below them. But at the same time as Saiyaman kicked at #13, #14 had shot out an energy blast, which hit the half-breed clearly in the side. #15 instantly followed up on the advantage, appearing behind the stunned fighter and heel dropping on Saiyaman's back. #13 had quickly recovered from the previous assault and joined in on the beating. He caught Saiyaman with a left hook to the throat, before kicking him in the liver. From there, the android placed both his hands on Saiyaman's chest and blasted him towards #14. The ping-pong match begin.

#14 quickly caught the saiyan warrior in another flurry of attacks, mostly focused on his head, but several times aiming at weak points on the body. He finished with a roundhouse kick to the head of Satan City's hero, which sent the helpless fighter flying towards #15 once again. Capturing the bloody and beaten fighter, #15 proceeded to give Saiyaman a series of harsh slaps in the face, tearing of even more of the remains of his helmet. As she dropkicked him towards #13, continued their cruel game of pinball, the black visor was shattered almost completely, with only one eye being partially hidden from view. The remains of the helmet were broken and, for the most part, had already fallen down to the ground. Bits and pieces of it remained in his hair, hiding about half of it from view.

#13 paid no attention, instead spinning around as Saiyaman flew towards him and giving him a hammer strike to the back of the head. It caused the helmet to finally shatter completely and fall to the ground as Saiyaman flew back towards #15, gaining more altitude as he went.

For her part, #15 didn't miss a beat, appearing behind Saiyaman instantly and trapping her nemesis in a bear hug, much like #14 had done mere minutes before. Unlike her Chinese brother though, she didn't stay stationary. Instead, she flipped herself and her prey over, and started flying towards the ground. As she descended, #15 added a rotation to her flight as well, quickly going to full speed as she found a suitable target.

As #13 and #14 started raining down energy blasts at her designated target, #15 kept increasing her speed, until she was mere meters above her target. Then, she release Saiyaman and quickly flew back to her previous position as Saiyaman's crash caused half the building to collapse.

As #13 and #14 kept up the rain of energy, #15 immediately began gathering energy to destroy Saiyaman, along with the building that had just been reduced to rubble around him: the Orange Star High School.

XxX

Videl was horrorstruck as she watched the fight going on from inside their shelter. Most of the fight had been invisible to them, only seeing and hearing all the explosions and some of the movements high in the sky, but after that green-haired female android who was in charge had joined in the fight, things had gotten worse for Saiyaman. Videl had clearly seen his attempt at fighting back, but these three androids were simply too strong and fast, even for him. They had begun beating him around, not giving him any rest at all, as soon as they were the only androids still left. They had obviously been holding back the majority of their power when they were fighting.

"No… This isn't happening, he can't lose! He's Saiyaman, damn it!" Sharpener suddenly cursed from Videl's side. Without even turning around, Videl knew that Erasa was standing on her other side, a terrorized look on Queen of Gossip's face. Just then, she saw the huge Chinese guy kicking Saiyaman back towards that… that… that foul, green haired bitch.

She couldn't just stay still anymore. Without thinking, Videl ran out of the hideout, running a lot faster then she had actually thought possible with her current injuries, but she didn't care. Saiyaman was going to die unless someone helped him.

'_He may be a Masked Moron, an Imbecile, a Nuisance and a Pain in the Ass, he still did everything he could to save Satan City! He can't die! He shouldn't die!_'

As she ran further and further, the breathing behind her telling her that Sharpener and Erasa were in hot pursuit, Videl began to recognize the area; Saiyaman and the Androids were fighting just over their school!

Just then, said school building exploded as the two male machines rained those light balls at Saiyaman. One thing was for sure now: those light balls, despite what her father always said, were no second-rate magician trick. They were real and could cause damage equal to, or maybe even superior to, a rocket.

At the same time as the school started crumbling, something very small, barely resembling what it once looked like; crashed down in front of the group of teenagers. In the short seconds of it falling, they could clearly see the remains of the black visor, attached to the orange-brown bits and pieces of helmet. The small piece or armor, which had always looked so goofy, instantly shattered into little pieces as it crashed into the floor. Without even knowing why, Videl feel to her knees in shock, looking at the location where the helmet had shattered.

Before she could stop herself, before she could even stop to think that she would normally never do anything like it, Videl's voice was shouting as hard as it could. She had seen the projectile and there was no mistaking it now.

"NOOOOO! SAIYAMAN!"

But Saiyaman could not answer her cry. He did not emerge from the raging explosions, like she had expected: instead there was no movement at all. Instead, the two male androids kept throwing more and more light balls, causing the explosion to get bigger and bigger as it build up in volume.

But it was the sudden and bright light that appeared overhead that really caught Videl's attention. #15 had her hands raised above her head and floating just above them, was a very large ball of pure white, radiating as much as the sun did. Sheer instinct told Videl to run, as fast and far as she could, because that attack was dangerous. But she couldn't run now, not when Saiyaman needed help. He had given help to others too often not to receive some when he needed it now.

But before Videl had even taken one step forward, #15 threw her hands forward, ordering the ball to descend, attack and destroy. In a second that seemed to last for an hour, Videl saw the white mini sun descend towards her school, her mouth wide open in a cry that she couldn't hear.

And then, it made contact.

Instantly, the entire world went white as they were covered in the immediate explosion.

* * *

A/N:

Wow, this was one difficult chapter to start… writing a seven-on-1 battle is NOT easy… I'm beginning to understand why almost all fights in literary work are one-on-one or not very detailed… although, once I got started, I finished most of the chapter in 1 huge go.

Anyway, much thanks to my beta's Kushin eX and Angel Fantasy for helping me check this chapter.

As always, please review and tell me what you think.

And now for some shameless advertisement: I have recently started working on a new DBZ fanfic, named Two of a Kind. I'll start posting it along with Triple Identity and Naruto: Arashiodori when I feel that I've progressed far enough with it to ensure a steady stream of updates. Look forward to it, it will be much shorter then Triple Identity, focus on Gohan much, much more and will be a lot darker then this story as well.


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: still don't own DBZ. Never have, never will.

* * *

Krillin was still holding a scared and highly nervous Bra when he saw what the group of teenagers was doing. They were watching the fight that Gohan – no, he was Saiyaman now- was having, just as he was taking a beating. Krillin had a good idea on what was going on, mainly thanks to the large amount of energy blasts flying around. Combining that knowledge with Gohan's energy level, which was dropping fast, Krillin could only reach one conclusion.

Things were not going good.

The Strongest Fighter in the World was taking the beating of his life, even with his maximum, non-transformed power. Obviously, the androids had not shown their full power before now. Even machines toyed around a bit too much, it seemed.

Just as he felt Gohan's energy level drop to a level it hadn't reached since the fight with Cell, Krillin suddenly noticed something. He couldn't see the three teenagers anymore.

They had left the shelter.

He glanced at his wife, who hadn't noticed anything yet. "Hey, Eighteen," he started, drawing his wife's attention away from their daughter for a second. "Take Bra; will you? Those teenagers have left and are heading towards the fight. I'm going after them, there's no way they'll survive if they get close to a fight like that."

"No, they won't." #18 agreed, but she didn't hold out her hand to receive the blue-haired girl. Instead she looked directly at her husband, her eyes piercing his. "And neither will you." she suddenly added.

"Take Marron, I'll go after them." the beautiful android said as she stood up. "I can at least hold off the others while those kids get to safety." She reasoned when Krillin opened his mouth to protest. "And _when_ we all make it out alive," she added, assuring the girls that they would all survive, "I have a good excuse for my ability to use energy: the truth."

Before the black-haired monk could object, #18 had pushed Marron in his arms, kissed her forehead and quickly leant in to kiss her husband. As soon as the kiss was broken, she turned around and flew out through the large pieces of debris, intend on finding the teenagers.

As soon as #18 left the hideout, she could clearly see Saiyaman, now rid of most of his ridiculous outfit, being tossed around by her two brothers and sister.

'_Don't worry about him, that kid can more then take care of himself._' #18 told herself as she flew through the streets. '_What matters most right now is saving those other kids. Gohan will go ballistic if they get killed._'

Just as she turned a corner, she saw #15 dive-bomb Gohan straight into his school, while #13 and #14 were already bombing the place with energy blasts.

'_I gotta hurry! Come on, #18, come on!_' The large energy bomb that #15 was now gathering didn't help her already stressed state of mind. Just as #15 released her attack, #18 had found the three teenagers. Videl and Erasa were down on their knees, looking in shock at the state of the school-building. Sharpener was standing behind them, looking like he also wanted to collapse.

But it seemed that the long-haired boy was more in control of himself then #18 would've thought, because he saw the large attack approaching the school and, in one swift movement, pushed both Videl and Erasa down on the ground and covered them.

#18 quickly jumped in front of them and released her energy around them.

"Energy Shield!" she grunted as the energy began to take the form of a protective orb. It wasn't a moment too soon: the instant the barrier was put up, #15's attack exploded, covering the group in so much light that they could see nothing but white for an instant.

As with all explosions, it barely even lasted three seconds, but they were the longest, loudest and most confusing three seconds in the lives of the teenagers. Meanwhile, #18 had to put a lot of effort into maintaining the shield around them. As soon as the explosion had died down, she dropped the shield as well. It would only alert the enemy to her presence, which would be very bad.

"Wha?" a confused female voice asked from behind the blond machine-warrior. "What just happened? What did you do, how did we survive that?" Without even glancing over her shoulder, #18 knew that Videl had gotten up again; the other two were likely standing now as well, and were asking her questions.

But #18 didn't even try to reply: instead she merely looked up in the sky, locating the three remaining enemies. Videl seemed to notice that #18's attention was focused on more important matters, because she didn't push her any further. It was, after only a second of waiting, Erasa who broke the silence.

"What happened to Saiyaman? Is he ok? He's going to come back in a minute right, I mean, he can't just… lose, he just can't!' the blond girl was in a near hysteria, her voice rising all the while.

"Erasa, be quiet!" Sharpener suddenly barked at her, though his voice shook with terror. All three teenagers had their eyes set on the remains of their school, lost to everything else around them. All they could think about was how Saiyaman - the weird-acting almost childish and highly naïve, but super-powerful and undefeatable Saiyaman – was lying somewhere underneath all that rubble. There was no way that anyone, even Saiyaman, could have possible survived being stuck underneath all of that, was there? Even if, by some miracle, he had survived the massive explosion, then he now still had tons and tons of concrete, stone, wood and god knows what else that stupid building was made of on top of him.

As they were gazing at the school-building so intensely, hoping for Saiyaman to rise from there and do his stupid dances but knowing that he couldn't, they didn't pay any attention to the three androids that were now slowly, tauntingly, floating towards them. #18's plea for them to flee was likewise lost on deaf ears.

All three teenagers, unknowingly, shared the same thought.

'_Saiyaman is dead… we're doomed._'

XxX

Lying there, at least ten meters underground, Gohan Son had several problems. The first and most important one was that there was several tons of debris pressing on him, preventing him from getting any breath. Even with his titan-like power, this was so much weight he wouldn't be able to lift it all on his own. Another problem was the incredible amount of pain that was flaring up from all over his body.

Gohan was no stranger to pain, having fought in more then his fair share of deadly battles, but the pain that he was feeling now was more then enough to make him wish that he could visit Dende right then and there.

The third point was the completely ruined state of Gohan's outfit. His helmet had been shattered, his toga, cape and belt had been discarded earlier in the fight and now even his black bodysuit and the white gloves and boots were ruined. His right leg was now almost completely bare, with only his upper-thigh still being covered in the black fabric. Likewise, his left shin was completely exposed. But that was nothing to the state of his upper body. With the exception of a thin line that connected his right shoulder with his right hip, Gohan's entire upper body was now bare, bruised and bloody.

He had barely been able to put up an energy barrier to reduce the damage from #15's attack; otherwise he would have died for sure.

While his ruined clothes may have appeared as nothing more then a bother to most, and maybe a dream come true to some, they were causing a great dilemma for the half-saiyan.

'_What am I going to do now? I can't fight as Saiyaman without my helmet…_' he thought as he tried to get some weight off his chest. He needed to get some air in his lungs soon, or he'd still die. '_Without my helmet, I'm just Gohan, I'm not Saiyaman anymore. What am I going to do?_'

Finally, with a massive effort, Gohan managed to raise some of the pressure on his chest by half a centimeter. With at least some area to move, Gohan's lungs instantly absorbed as much air as they could in the confined area. The demi-saiyan could barely stop himself from coughing loudly as a large quantity of sand and other dirt invaded his mouth along with the relieving oxygen.

Closing his eyes in concentration, Gohan suddenly started to have a hallucination, or maybe it was a vision or simply the most visual flashback he'd ever experienced.

**He was standing in a room after his first day at school, looking himself over in a mirror. He was wearing the superhero outfit that Bulma had made him and Goten was watching his brother go through several poses. When he'd finally reached his finishing pose, crouching low with his legs spread wide and his hands parallel to his helmet and pointing to his nose, Goten excitedly spoke up.**

"**Oh wow, my brother is a real superhero. You are so cool Saiyaman!"**

Gaining more grip on the weight, Gohan had another vision.

**He was standing in a park, having just stopped a purse-snatcher. There was a young girl, she couldn't have been older then six, staring at him in awe while she held her mother's hand. Giving her a quick wave, Saiyaman lifted himself of the ground, floating for a second before turning around to fly off. In that instant, the young girl waved back fanatically and yelled after the superhero, "Goodbye Saiyaman, you're the best!"**

'_Come on Gohan, PUSH!_' he mentally shouted at himself, trying to lift the debris.

"**Yeah, Gohan, whatever you say." Trunks said as he saw Gohan in his new outfit. It had been a week since Saiyaman had been born. "It doesn't really look all that cool, why don't you drop the helmet and just run around as a Super Saiyan? No-one would recognize you then."**

"Why won't you MOVE!" Gohan grunted in frustration, desperately pushing as hard as he could. He couldn't die down here, trapped under tons of rubble!

'_They need me up there; I need to fight those androids off._'

**Even through the storm that was howling outside, Gohan could clearly hear everything that was being said in the church. The Commander's helmet allowed him to hear any and every sound around him. He could clearly hear Videl's voice over the fighting, shouting out. "Where is that Caped Moron when you need him?"**

'_No, they don't need me…_' Gohan realized as he thought about the memory. '_Gohan can't defeat those androids, not the way they expect me to. They need Saiyaman… but how can I be Saiyaman without my helmet? I have to get back up there, they need Saiyaman!_'

Pausing his efforts for a second, Gohan started to focus his mind on retaining his Saiyaman persona, even without the helmet.

'_Think the part,_' he reminded himself, his hands tightening around the rubble.

'_Act the part,_' tightening his back, Gohan started pushing against the rubble with everything he had.

'_Be the part!_' Pushing with all his power, Gohan could feel the weight lifting ever so slightly.

'_Think the part, Act the part, Be the part!_' he ranted again, using even more power to lift the debris.

'_Think The Part, Act The Part, BE THE PART!_'

XxX

Back on the surface, #18 watched with some level of horror as the three other androids closed in on her. Turning around, she shouted at the distressed teenagers to get away, but they didn't seem to hear her. At once, #18 used her sensors to scan over the trio.

Sharpener seemed to be doing the best out of the three. He still had some remains of adrenaline in his body and, unlike the other two; there were no other hormones that were capable of controlling his behavior or thinking.

Erasa had a very small bit of adrenaline running through her body, probably because she hadn't actually fought like the others, but there were other hormones that were raging intensely. They were obviously what held the girl in a panicked state, and the level of hormonal activity kept Erasa's heart racing like never before while her mind was in a complete lockdown.

Videl, meanwhile, was experiencing a mix of several different hormones. The combination of the hormones, as well as her injuries, had pushed the girl to a level of emotional and physical exhaustion. Yet the hormones had kept her from noticing the exhaustion, putting her in a state that would probably best be described as similar to drunk. She had remained a good level of control over her movements and thoughts, but she would act without inhabitation, unlike normal. If she was in a normal state, #18 knew that the black haired girl wouldn't have broken down like she had. She was far too tough and proud for that.

Turning her head back at the approaching threat, #18 saw that the other robots were nearly upon them. Sharpener had, apparently, made the same deduction because he suddenly acted. He bent down and picked up Erasa, holding her over one shoulder. The blond girl could hardly protest, given her mental shutdown and current shock.

"Videl, come on, we have to go NOW!" the young man said, desperation and fear obvious in his voice. But the raven-haired fighter didn't heed him at all, instead she looked at the school-building even more intently. Then, a split second later, she suddenly shouted out again.

"SAIYAMAN!!!"

Videl's shout came at the exact same moment as #13's grinning face was clearly visible to Sharpener, causing him to fear for his life more then ever before. But, in that same instant, something else happened.

A large pillar of golden light suddenly erupted from Orange Star High, blasting straight through the remains of the school. Any rubble that was still in the beam of light after it broke through was instantly disintegrated into oblivion.

Turning their heads at the sudden and unexpected appearance of the pillar of light, none of the destruction-bend androids or teenagers noticed the smirk that had appeared on #18's face. As they all watched, more pillars of light erupted. Each of those pillars was thinner then the first, breaking through at various points of the ruined building.

Just as the light rays were so numerous that they kept the building from sight, they expanded explosively; destroying whatever it was that remained of Orange Star High.

And there, in the middle of the almost blindingly, but somehow comforting, golden light, appeared a figure that was unmistakable. His outfit was completely ruined, revealing his bare, highly muscular chest and arms. His face, previously hidden by a mask, was not completely visible from where Videl was sitting, but she could clearly see his golden-blond, spiky hair as it waved in winds that seemed to come from the superhero's own body.

The image of the unmasked superhero was so captivating, that all three of the teenagers were completely absorbed in the sight. They didn't see #18 suddenly punching against #13, pushing the big, silver-haired man back. The trio turned around just in time to see the large, metal-skinned and Chinese-styled #14 stand beside them, his fist already on a collision course with Erasa's head.

XxX

As the now transformed Gohan appeared from the remains of his high-school, Bulma couldn't help but giggle a bit as she watched. Trunks, was even more awestruck by Gohan as a Super Saiyan, especially since he could sense the elder half-Saiyan's powerlevel. It had been the first time that Trunks had seen Gohan's transformation as well.

But that wasn't the reason that Bulma was almost caught in a giggling fit. She knew it was completely inappropriate, but there was one thought that struck the blue-haired genius the moment she saw Gohan destroy his school to escape.

'_Chichi is going to have kittens over Gohan destroying his school._'

Just as Bulma placed her hand over her mouth, Vegeta suddenly stood next to her and placed his hand on Trunk's head. The action surprised both mother and son, since Vegeta disliked open displays of affection.

"Watch carefully son." The last pureblood Saiyan said. "You're about to watch a true Super Saiyan in battle."

"Yes dad." The lavender-haired prince said; his eyes glued to the TV-screen.

XxX

At the instant that Videl saw movement from the corner of her eye, she instinctively knew she was too late. Turning around, she was just in time to see the massive fist of Android #14 going straight for Erasa. She opened her mouth to let out a scream, but no sound would come. In the instant before #14's fist would have made contact with the back of Erasa's head, there was a sudden increase in the light, as Videl was suddenly face-to-face with a the odd combination of black and white-ish skin.

Saiyaman had crossed the distance between Orange Star High's ruins and the group of teenagers even faster then Videl had ever guessed he'd be. And, at the same time, he'd grabbed #14's fist and pulled it away from the blonde's head.

With his right hand holding of #14, Saiyaman stood in front of the three teenagers, revealing his bare left arm. But, despite Videl's hopes he'd look around, Saiyaman's eyes never left his opponent. As she made a quick scan of the superhero's appearance showed Videl more then she'd ever seen before. Saiyaman's body was covered in small scars, indicating that he'd lived a hard and dangerous life early on. But what stood out most, was the clear cross-shaped scar that was on his left shoulder. It divided his shoulder in four perfect corners, the centre of the cross in the dead-centre of his shoulder.

Saiyaman used his left arm to punch #14 in the face so hard that the android's face became distorted as he flew back. He landed in the ground twenty or so meters back, but instead of stopping or even bouncing, he flew even further, dragging the concrete with him and creating a trench several meters long.

Again, the superhero didn't turn around, instead glancing sideways at the small fight between #18 and #13. As he turned his head, Videl could see his emerald eyes, but she didn't comment.

"Miss Videl, I must ask you to leave the area right away." Saiyaman suddenly said, his voice a bit heaver and more strained then normal. Simply hearing his voice seemed to do wonders for Videl's state of mind. She instantly calmed down, stood up and turned around. The other two followed her example, turning to run far away from the mass destruction. Just before she took off in a full dash, Videl saw Sharpener looking at Saiyaman with a combination of shock and awe on his face. At the same time, Videl turned around and quickly said something before dashing off.

"Hey Saiyaman… Good Luck."

Saiyaman nodded his head to indicate that he'd gotten her message and then crouched down before shooting towards #13, who had now managed to release one of his hands from #18's grip. Before he could actually do anything with the freed extremity though, the gold-glowing hero had punched the silver-haired man, giving him a similar fate to #14.

Without so much as a word, #18 turned around and followed the teens to escape the fight. Saiyaman raised his head to look at #15, who was still floating above him.

At the moment he looked back up, both #13 and #14 had recovered from his previous attacks and shot forward to strike him. Without missing a beat Saiyaman stepped back, evading #13's right hook, and quickly kneed him in the stomach. Following through, he caught #14's punch as well, before twisting his hand and instantly ripping of the mechanical arm. #14 quickly jumped back to avoid further damage but Saiyaman didn't seem to care. Instead of chasing after the Chinese-looking android, Saiyaman turned his attention back to #13, who was still bent over. An elbow in the back send the android crashing too the floor, sending small chips and other mechanical pieces flying.

Just then, #15 decided to intervene, but before she could even attack the recovered superhero, he had phased out and re-appeared behind her, dropkicking her into a nearby building. With both of his partners disabled for the fight at the time being, #14 reentered the fight, missing one arm or not. But he was no match for Saiyaman now that the superhero had revealed his true power. The superhero again evaded his attack with ease and placed an open hand on #14's missing shoulder. Releasing a small but powerful energy attack, Saiyaman deep-fried all the wires and systems in #14's body. Most of his processing functions now completely ruined, #14 simply crashed to the floor, never able to rejoin the fight again.

'_One android down, two to go._' Saiyaman thought as he returned his attention to #13. Getting back up from his position on the ground, #13 was still attempting to asses the damage he was suffering, when Saiyaman's attack found its mark. Dropping in from above the muscular machine, Saiyaman hit him with a heel-drop so hard he kicked right through #13. Like #4 and #6 before him, #13 was broken apart into two complete pieces, the inner workings completely ruined. Before the two pieces of android even touched the ground, the lights and buzzing inside his body stopped, indicating that he too had been silenced for good.

Turning around, the golden-haired fighter saw #15 blasting through the air to attack him in the back. Now prepared for the attack, Saiyaman leaned back a bit to evade the punch. What he hadn't expected however, was #15's fist to suddenly detach from her body and hit him square in the jaw. In the moment of stun, #15 quickly punched Saiyaman in the gut, forcing him to bend over in pain, before rotating and kicking him in the back with both her feet.

Even in his transformed state, Saiyaman didn't have enough time to pull out before he crashed into the ground again. Before he could get back up, #15's other fist had crashed into the back of his head, disorienting him for a second.

While Saiyaman was still down on the ground, struggling to get back up because of the direct hits to his brain, #15 began activating her emergency protocol. As a near impenetrable orb of protective energy formed around her, a special magnetic wave started to emit from her body. As the waves intensified, #15 could easily see that they were already serving their purpose. The Central Processing Units, Power Cores and Motherboards of most of the defeated androids floated up from the remains of the androids and set off towards her. In fact, out of the fourteen defeated androids, ten CPU's, Power Cores and Motherboards were still intact enough to use. Only #8, #9, #10 and #12 were damaged beyond usage or completely destroyed.

Saiyaman got back up just as the needed items reached #15. Knowing that it was always a bad thing when an enemy absorbed anything, he shot off at once to stop #15. But his fist was stopped by the energy barrier that she'd put up earlier. Pushing with all his might, he could feel the barrier give way a tiny bit, but he wouldn't be in time to stop #15 from absorbing the pieces of machinery. Just as the numerous miniature devices touched #15's body and were absorbed, Saiyaman broke through the shield.

Without a second's hesitation, Saiyaman's fist made full contact with #15's head, sending her flying back into the ruins of what was once an office building. Launching a blast of energy after her, Saiyaman nervously watched as he searched for signs that his opponent had survived.

He got his answer a second later, as #15 blasted away everything around her. But her looks were completely different from before. Instead of being a large, muscular, green-haired woman, there now stood a seven foot tall, red-skinned and blue-haired machine that couldn't be identified by gender. Her clothes, obviously no longer able to fit her new body size, were torn all over her body, showing pieces of metal plating that now covered her chest, shoulders and lower-arms.

As #15 looked up, her eyes now nothing but a mass of white without pupils, Saiyaman watched her with a look of surprise.

'_Why do they ALWAYS have a transformation left when you've nearly defeated them?_' He thought, just as #15 shot up and punched the superhero in the gut. At the same time he had landed an elbow in #15's face, but there was one thing he was sure of, even after the short exchange.

He had lost his advantage in speed and power. They were now equal. And a fight on this magnitude could easily wipe out what remained of Satan City.

"Saiyaman, The Great." The Enhanced #15 said, eyes still locked onto Saiyaman's. "Prepare for termination."

Floating around for a second, Saiyaman assumed a fighting stance before answering the android's challenge.

"Not in this lifetime scrapheap."

* * *

A/N:

As always much thanks to my beta's Kushin eX and Angel Fantasy for their help on checking my horrid grammar.

And I must say that I'm very glad that the previous chapter was so well received, it was a very fun chapter to write. Thanks for all the positive feedback and I promise you: next chapter will be another action-packed chapter. But after that there will be a calm for a while, since we'll progress into the next arc.

As always, please review and tell me what you think.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ or anything related. I just borrow it to have some fun.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

With a cry, Saiyaman shot forward at the exact same time as the Super-charged #15 did. Slipping underneath her first punch, Saiyaman landed a left-handed punch to #15's face, but was unable to follow up on it because at the same time, #15's knee shot upward and caught him in the stomach. In the instant that Saiyaman was doubled over, #15 immediately jack hammered him in the back, sending the gold-haired superhero crashing towards the floor.

Before he was even halfway to the floor, however, Saiyaman turned around and fired an energy blast with both of his hands. The beam completely hid the half-breed from the sight of the android, but she simply caught the blast with both hands and, after struggling for a few seconds, deflected the blast to the sky. At the exact same moment that #15 had pushed aside the blast, Saiyaman appeared behind her and dropkicked her in the back. Using his momentary advantage, he immediately followed it up by continuously punching and kicking her in the back.

But #15 replied almost instantly by creating a large blue electric-like net around her that quickly expanded. Recognizing the barrier technique, Saiyaman quickly backed off and lifted both arms to shoulder height and pointing to the side. A ball of energy instantly appeared in his hands. He threw the left ball in a relatively slow arc, using an underhand throwing technique. Just before it made contact with the shield, Saiyaman threw the other orb of energy in a straight and fast line, making it connect with the first ball.

As soon as the two orbs of manipulated energy connected, they exploded. The explosion was bright enough to obscure any other light within its blast's radius, and it immediately broke through the electric shield of #15. The explosion reduced all the rubble that was around the two fighters to nothing but dust, but Saiyaman had more important worries. He flew straight through the explosion, using the opening in the barrier and using his own energy as a shield, and immediately engaged #15 in close combat.

But apparently, the red-skinned machine had anticipated Saiyaman's tactic, because as soon as Saiyaman was in range, #15 head-butted him in the face, and landed a deep punch in the Super-Saiyan's stomach. A shoulder bash that came immediately after the punch would have forced him away, but Saiyaman phased out just before it hit him, re-appearing behind the machine and landing an elbow in its neck. But it passed right through him as #15 also phased out.

A powerful axe-kick shot straight through Saiyaman's second after-image, but this time the biological fighter didn't re-appear behind his nemesis. Instead, he had jumped back a couple meters and created an energy bomb with one hand and threw it. #15 quickly smashed it back to the crime-fighter, but it missed its target as Saiyaman shot up.

While Saiyaman had to evade his own attack, #15 clasped her hands together and charged up a powerful, head-sized ball of energy. As soon as her hands were brought forward, a thin, strong blast shot forward, catching the evading Saiyaman in the chest and immediately throwing him back.

Not able to stop himself in time, Saiyaman was thrown straight into a large office tower located some two-hundred meters behind him. Stabilizing himself before crashing through the other end, Saiyaman was just in time to see #15 enter the building as well and double-kick her up a few levels in the building.

Shooting up through the ceiling after her, Saiyaman was suddenly in a, previously completely dark, room. His golden aura served as a dead give away to his position, but before he had time to deactivate his aura, #15 suddenly crashed into him from above. He managed to push the android back and immediately went after her on the offence. But the android was obviously at an advantage in such close quarters: her sensors informed her of the room perfectly, while Saiyaman only had a limited vision.

Jumping up above one of her kicks, Saiyaman flipped around in the air and delivered a swift tornado-kick to the android's head. The blue-haired machine was send flying through the floors again, this time going towards the basement at neck breaking speed. Eager to continue his assault, Saiyaman flew after her, but was forced to evade a strong blast of energy as the android recovered.

#15 phased in behind the superhero and, before he could prepare for it, quickly smashed him into the wall on the other side of the building, destroying about ten other walls and pillars in the process. Seeing her approaching, Saiyaman quickly bend down to evade her follow-up punch and, retaliated by punching the machine in the gut, followed by a second punch in its side and finally a kick to the back.

But #15 was already prepared and blocked the kick, quickly returning with one of her own. Saiyaman blocked the kick with both of his arms and immediately send his right flying towards #15's chest. She parried the blow with a backhand, before raising her knee. Saiyaman caught the knee with his own knee but was unable to block the punch that followed immediately after. As the half-saiyan was sent flying, he suddenly noticed that the entire building was on the verge of collapsing, thanks to their fight.

As #15 appeared above him, Saiyaman placed his hands on the ground below him and kicked up with both his legs. The attack found its mark as #15 was shot through the ceiling and couldn't stop herself before she was ejected from the building. In response, she fired a two-handed energy attack that completely leveled the building, along with the surrounding city block.

Suddenly Saiyaman was right in front of her again, punching and kicking at her with renewed vigor. #15 responded by launching her most violent offensive yet, but the crime-fighter was too close for her to use energy-attacks. Suddenly, Saiyaman jumped back and charged up his own energy attack. #15 immediately responded; but at the last second, Saiyaman phased out and appeared in front of the machine, floating upside down. Before #15 could fire her energy attack, the Justice Warrior performed a swift Axe-kick, sending the machine flying even higher into the air.

During their exchange since leaving the building, the two had already moved quite a bit further up into the air, but Saiyaman's last attack completely sent the Super Android flying into the clouds, hiding her from sight.

Saiyaman immediately gave chase, but had to deflect a powerful energy blast fired from within a cloud. Shooting up, the crime fighter emerged from the other side of the cloud, having not seen #15 anywhere: the android was using the clouds to hide her appearance.

Realizing the tactic, Saiyaman started shouting, sending out his energy to disrupt the wind and remove the clouds from the immediate area. But as soon as he started the shout, having placed his hands at his hips to power-up, #15 shot appeared from a cloud behind him and punched Saiyaman in the back. Without the ability to guard against the attack, Saiyaman was flipped forward and #15 took the chance and caught Saiyaman's right knee in between an elbow and her own knee.

The loud crunching sound as Saiyaman's patella was crushed and his entire knee-joint broken, was surpassed only by the accompanying cry of pain. #15 released the broken and now almost useless leg and drew back her hands to gather power for a blast. Before she had the chance, however, Saiyaman turned around and kicked her back using his good leg. The kick was strong enough to send #15 flying back several hundred meters, giving Saiyaman more then enough time to recover.

"That's it." Saiyaman said, his eyes narrowed as he looked more serious then ever. "I'm going to turn you into a toaster right now! AAARGH!!!"

Taking a crouching position in the air, Saiyaman began to gather his energy once again, his power level rising to new heights. All around him, the clouds were blown away, giving anyone and everyone watching a very clear view of the fight, if they could see so high into the sky. Realizing the danger she was in, #15 charged forward to stop the power-up, but she was suddenly stopped by a barrier that was created by Saiyaman's very aura of power.

After a few seconds, in which #15 was bushed back by the aura as it expanded, Saiyaman had completed his power-up and floated around for a second. With the exception of a slight increase in his muscle mass, the only change that had occurred was that his already spiky blond hair became even spikier. As Saiyaman was simply floating around for a second, #15 took the initiative and charged forward. Saiyaman easily caught her punch and countered with one of his own. His punch was much faster then it had been before, and #15 couldn't do anything to defend against it.

She quickly pulled back and fired an energy blast, but after the smoke cleared, there had been next to no additional damage inflicted.

"Too bad for you;" Saiyaman said as he raised his arms to the sky, palms facing upward. For the first time, he was not twisting his voice around, speaking with his original voice. "You never stood a chance against me. Up until now, I was only using the first stadium of this form. Now, I'm using its maximum power. And even if you would manage to even the odds against me now, I still have another transformation left after this, although I prefer not to use it: you could never have won."

A large, yellow ball of energy formed above Saiyaman's hands, bright enough to look like a miniature sun.

"Impossible." #15 questioned. "How can a biological entity possess this much power? There is no record of any genetic life form to posses this power. This is impossible."

"Nothing is impossible." Saiyaman said as he compressed the body-sized energy ball to a fist-size. "Biological life forms have no set limits. That is the error that's with machines. That's why you've never defeated us. Now go to the scrapheap. Justice Blaster!"

Lowering his arms in front of him, Saiyaman looked #15 in the eye, before releasing the blast. #15 feebly tried to counter it with a blast of her own, but the supercharged machine's attack was immediately absorbed by the bright yellow wave of energy. Within the blink of an eye, #15 was engulfed in the light as well, being disintegrated in a couple of seconds. Just before she was completely destroyed, however, she uttered one last sentence.

"Voice verification completed. Target probability: 90 Percent."

XxX

Piccolo stood at the edge of Dende's Lookout, wondering what was going on. For the past few hours, Gohan's energy had been steadily increasing, as if he was in a fight. Oddly enough, there was no-one in his immediate area who could pose any threat to Gohan, or at least no enemies that he could sense. Krillin was near him and that probably meant #18 was nearby as well, but Piccolo couldn't sense any enemies arriving.

It had picked his curiosity, but up until two minutes ago, the Namek hadn't been worried about it. Gohan didn't even come close to using his full power, even when he transformed into a Super-Saiyan. But a few minutes ago, Gohan had powered up to the same level he had when he first faced Cell: the maximum power of the basic Super Saiyan form, in which Gohan had first surpassed his father. If there were enemies around that could force Gohan, who was probably one of the strongest warriors in the universe, to go to a near maximum power, then there was a reason to be worried.

But he could ask all that later, since Gohan was currently flying towards the Lookout at top speed.

"And here he is now." The Namek said to himself as Gohan appeared in his sights.

Even though the Lookout was on the other side of the world from Satan City, Gohan had appeared two minutes after finishing his fight. Dende was already running towards his old friend but stopped after seeing how Gohan looked. Piccolo did the same, stunned by Gohan's appearance.

His clothes were completely ruined, but that was of little concern. Clothing, after all, just wasn't that tough. But Gohan himself was covered in bruises and cuts and he was bleeding from a lot of places. There was blood coming slowly dripping from his hair, he had at least two dozen bleeding cuts on each of his arms. But most obvious of all, was Gohan's right knee. It was thick, swollen, held at an odd angle and obviously broken.

'_Scratch broken, that knee is completely shattered!_' Piccolo realized as he took a closer look.

"Hey guys," Gohan said as he floated a few inches above the Lookout's ground. "I know this is kind of sudden Dende, but could you please heal me? I had a bit of a rough fight and I have a couple of friends who are waiting for me back in Satan City. I don't think appearing like I do now is going to be very comforting to them."

"Ehm, of course. Just, hold on for a moment." The Guardian of the Earth said as he placed his hands an inch from Gohan's body and let his healing energies flow.

"So, what happened to you?" Piccolo asked, uncrossing his arms as he approached his old student. "I could sense you fighting someone or something, but whoever you fought had no energy signal whatsoever. I could only sense a couple of energy blasts, but with both you and Krillin around it was hard to make out exactly who they belonged to."

"Androids;" Gohan said shortly, before letting out a sigh of relieve. Dende had just managed to fix up his knee and there was suddenly a whole lot less pain that Gohan had to ignore. "There were fifteen of them, each one stronger then the last. I could fight most of them in my basic form, the last few were a bit too tough and I had to go Super to defeat them. Then the last one absorbed a couple parts of the others, I think they were the CPU, Power core and maybe the Motherboards but I'm not sure, and transformed. She became strong enough to corner me in my Super-Saiyan form so I used my full power without ascending. I'll tell you more later on; right now I have to make sure Videl and the others are all right."

"Ok, you're as good as new." Dende said as he took a step back. "But are you sure you don't want me to remove that scar on your shoulder? I could probably still do it you know."

"Thanks for the offer Dende, but I told you seven years ago I keep it for a reason. And thanks for fixing me up, I'll see you guys later!"

With that Gohan turned around and, still in his Super-Saiyan form, shot away, back towards Satan City.

As he saw his old student fly away, Piccolo couldn't help but wonder about something.

'_You keep that scar to remind yourself of the cost of arrogance, but the first time you get into a major fight, you immediately forget it, so what's the purpose of keeping the scar?_'

XxX

"GOHAN! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, YOU STUPID GEEK!"

Videl was shouting in desperation more then anger, but after the day she had, she figured she was at least allowed to yell insults at one of her best friends. A best friend who had made her worry a lot, ever since Erasa mentioned that the straight A+ scoring teenager had rushed straight after her. Sharpener mentioned something about Gohan having gone to get help, but Videl was still worried sick about him.

"NERD-BOY, IF YOU DON'T SHOW YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW I SWEAR, I AM GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS ALL THE WAY TO NEW YORK CITY AND BACK!"

A couple meters to Videl's side, Sharpener was undergoing the same dilemma as Videl was. Although he was shouting insults, he was frantically looking around for that trademark black, spiky hair. Yet, for some reason, ever since they had left behind the three remaining androids and Saiyaman, who was now revealed to also be the Gold Fighter, there was something odd going on. Sharpener didn't seem at all surprised that they couldn't find Gohan and he was oddly calm throughout everything that went on.

"Miss Satan, you really shouldn't run around like that yet!" a nervous looking nurse said as she rushed after Videl. "The doctors haven't had a chance to check out your injuries yet, who knows what might happen to you if you don't get some attention right now?"

"I told you, I'm fine!" Videl said in annoyance as she continued looking for her classmate. Curse her parents for making her so small. "I don't have any injuries that'll kill me immediately, just tend to the people with other injuries first.

Just after they had arrived, alongside the miraculously unharmed #18, the medics had swarmed Videl and, to a lesser extent, Sharpener and Erasa. It had taken Videl well over twenty minutes to break free of the doctors, all of whom wanted to make sure that Videl was all right. If it was up to them, she would have been held in a hospital bed until every bruise had been healed.

"Hey Vi, isn't that him!?" Erasa suddenly yelled as she ran alongside Videl. She pointed somewhere to Videl's left and, sure enough, she suddenly saw a spiky black hairdo making its way towards them. Not paying attention to anything else, Videl immediately started running towards Gohan, bashing a couple people aside as she went. With a final shove, she was suddenly face-to-chest with Gohan and, unable to contain herself for a second, threw her arms around Gohan in a brief hug.

A second later, Videl seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly released Gohan as she could feel herself blushing. Erasa had no problems and grabbed Gohan around the torso and looked like she never wanted to let him go. Sharpener appeared behind them a second later and, after checking Gohan over once to make sure he was ok, gave him a short nod.

'_Men…_' Videl thought as she had to stop herself from laughing. '_He's too proud to make Gohan realize he's worried._'

"Where've you gone?" Videl suddenly asked as Gohan looked the trio over as well. "We couldn't find you anywhere, we were worried sick."

"Sorry about that, guys, but it all happened pretty fast." Gohan said, starting to look uncomfortable from Erasa's prolonged hug. "After Krillin and I went after you, he told me to go get some help while he helped you out if he could. I went to the police, and then Saiyaman was suddenly there and said that we had to evacuate the city. I couldn't reach you or Krillin and then I was over here before I knew it. But I was also worried sick about you guys: you were up close to the fighting weren't you? Are you all ok?"

"Of course we are you dummy." Erasa said, her voice leaving no doubt to Videl that she was now crying into Gohan's shirt. "We had Saiyaman around to protect us and Krillin and #18 also took really good care of us. But I was worried sick about you."

Sharpener, oddly enough, looked at Gohan with a very strange look in his eyes. Normally, this would have interested Videl, just like how she would normally question Gohan some more, but she was just too tired at the moment. Gohan seemingly noticed it, because he looked Sharpener in the eye as he spoke up.

"What's up Sharpener?"

It took the long-haired boy a few seconds to realize that Gohan was speaking to him but when he spoke up; his voice was oddly calm and controlled.

"Nothing Nerd-boy. I'm just glad you made it out ok, that's it Brains."

XxX

Two days after 'The Great Saiyaman Battle' as it had been called by the international press, Parer Pencil was standing in his office as always, looking out his rather large window and down onto the streets below. Since his office, the main office of STV; was not actually located in Satan City, but in Fase Town which was about twenty minutes of driving out of Satan City, he had not left his office at all during the battle itself.

Rather, he had been in charge of overseeing the broadcast of the fight and that alone had delivered his company a couple million zenni in a few days. Every news channel in the world, not to mention moviemakers all over the globe, wanted the footage of the Saiyaman Battle to either broadcast or use as reference material. But for Parer, there had been one thing that had claimed his complete attention during the fight: his son's safety

Although he and Sharpener are often at odds with each other, a trait coming from their shared pigheadedness as his wife called it, Parer still loved his son. He still felt a cold sensation crawling over his spine when he thought of Sharpener suddenly jumping in and taking on an enemy that had corner Videl that easily. He had been proud that his son was brave enough to do so, risk his life for a friend, but he had been terrified of losing his son.

So he was feeling immense gratitude to both Saiyaman and the other, unknown black-haired fighter that had appeared alongside Sharpener. Both had taken care of the machine warriors, androids as Saiyaman had named them, and protected the welfare of Sharpener, along with many others. Parer would forever be grateful to them for that.

Parer looked over to the general direction of Satan City.

"Hard to believe it really happened." He said to no-one. "a handful of people capable of damaging well over a third of Satan City. Hell, they leveled a quarter of the city completely. It's a miracle that almost no-one got injured."

For the fifth time in the past hour alone – he had forgotten how often he had gone over the formal report of the police in the past two days- Parer looked down at the estimates of the damage.

50 wounded, ten of which where serious and 4 dead. Next to nothing compared to the nearly two million people who inhabited the hometown of the World champion.

'_And we to thank it all to Saiyaman. He bought the people enough time to get to safety._' Parer mused, before adding, '_But, the police should be thanked as well. They were working pretty effectively to evacuate the city. Even if the mayor has pressed charges to the commissioner, he did well._'

Which brought Parer back to the reason he had ended up in deep thought: now that some of the dust had settled and people had gotten over the initial shock of the battle, it was time for STV to broadcast the news of commissioner Yolal's fate. It was up to Parer to decide how they would portray the commissioner. They would have to make him either a hero, which might anger some politicians and other police commissioners because it might promote insubordination, or as a rule breaker, which the majority of the public would not like.

Just as he was pondering what fate he would give the commissioner, someone suddenly barged into Parer's office.

The man was young, somewhere in his late twenties, and from his uniform Parer could already tell he was with the satellite surveillance team. That had been the team who had enabled the life broadcast of the battle: they managed any and everything that had to do with the satellites.

"Sir, I have something that you MUST see, now!" he exclaimed, while Parer's secretary walked into the office after him, clearly annoyed. Mrs. Tols never did like to be ignored by anyone, even her boss.

"I've told you, you have to make an appointment to meet with Mr. Pencil. Now please leave this office or I will call security." Mrs. Tols said venomously.

"What's the problem here?" Parer asked, wondering why a young man like this would barge into his office.

"Sir, its Saiyaman!" the young man said. "I've managed to get a clear picture of his face!"

Both Parer and Mrs. Tols looked dumbstruck at the statement, but Parer quickly managed to gather himself again. With a wave he dismissed Mrs. Tols, and turned his attention to the employee.

"Son, if this is a joke of some sort, you're toying with your job from here on out. This had better be real." Parer threatened.

"No sir, I assure you it's real. Look, I've printed the picture as well. Here." The young man pulled out a printed picture of a black-haired Saiyaman just after his helmet had been shattered by the androids. It was still a bit vague, but both his eyes and facial structure were clear enough to identify. This picture would, without a doubt, be able to reveal the identity of Saiyaman.

"As you know, after Saiyaman reappeared and destroyed Orange Star High, his hair was blond, golden even." The man said, clearly excited because he had caught the attention of the company's president. "But for some reason, all the pictures of the golden-haired Saiyaman were disrupted, as if the air around him wouldn't let the light penetrate it properly. But this picture can clearly reveal us who he is. We can identify Saiyaman with this!"

By now, the young man was breathing loudly, as if he had run a full marathon. Parer looked him over for a few seconds, his eyes drifting back to Saiyaman's picture. He felt like he had seen this young man somewhere, but he couldn't really place it.

"Son," Parer started, now looking his employee straight in the eye, "how many others know of this picture?"

"No-one; I discovered it, locked the file down and came over here right away."

"Good, I want you to change the lock: I am the only one allowed anywhere near those pictures." Parer stated.

"Yes sir, of course sir."

"Oh and son; what's your name?"

"It's Anton. Anton van Wilde. My parents were from Europe." He said, seeing the surprised look on his boss' face.

"Alright, Anton I'm going to give you a pay raise for discovering this, but I'm going to have to ask you to keep it quiet. Not a word to anyone about it. Understood?"

"Yes sir, of course sir."

"Very well; Dismissed."

Excited, Anton turned around and left the office, a spring in his step as he walked. Parer waited for twenty minutes after the man had left his office, received the confirmation that he had been given solo access to a picture file and, without opening the file, deleted it.

After that, he turned to the picture that had been printed out, now the only remaining piece of evidence to show Saiyaman's identity. In a few easy movements, he had torn the paper in four and placed them in his shredder. As soon as they were done, Parer removed the bag from the shredder.

Placing them inside a safe, so that there could be no permanent damage done to the building, Parer grabbed his old pipe.

'_Well. Sharpener always said I had to quit smoking this thing._' He told himself as he light the pipe and, when he was satisfied with it's burning, placed it upside down above the papers. They instantly lit up and, just before he closed the safe's door, he could already see a flame beginning to form.

'_After everything he's done, I'm not going to be the one who destroys Saiyaman's identity. He did too much for us for me to betray him like that._'

XxX

Sitting in his office, with clear instructions to his secretary and assistants that he did not want to be disturbed, Styring Behersk was working behind his computer, checking some of his personal files. These files were special and no-one but Styring himself could access them. There was a good reason for that: some of the information contained in those documents could bring down his lifework. For the past thirty years, Styring had worked tirelessly to create what he had. A good running, internationally famous, building foundation that received several billion dollars a year in donations – some of which was used for operations other then building, but the public didn't know that. Aside from that, Styring had created a vast empire of corporations, ranging from the creation and development of construction vehicles, to large medicine factories and a multitude of insurance companies. But, most importantly, Styring had created, funded and was now the head of the greatest crime syndicat there was at the time.

His syndicat, which worked all over the world with all sorts of transactions, was what had been at the base of Styring's wealth. It had grown exponentially over the thirty years since he first started out as an arms dealer in the middle of the last war to rage through Europe. That war had already made Styring a multi-millionaire but afterwards, his empire had grown and grown. By now he was officially recognized as one of the twenty richest people in the world by his companies and foundation alone. Adding his criminal empire, he was confident that his riches were second only to Bulma Briefs'.

But, back to the matter at hand, Styring was now sitting in his office and sorting through his files.

'_Good thing my office is on the other side of Satan City from Orange Star High._' Styring mused as he skipped the files of possible blackmail material on a group of politicians. '_All I had to do was place some of my possessions back after they fell over from the shockwaves._'

"Ah ha! Found them." He exclaimed in victory as he had finally found the files he was looking for. There was little wonder it had taken him so long: the files were well over two decades old.

"Let's see, Mountain area, where was it now?" his eyes scanning over all the listed data, he started to check them to the geography map he had running on another screen.

"No, I know that one's empty, I've already checked it five years ago. That one was also emptied." He murmured as he marked two of them off.

"That mountain doesn't exist anymore; it was blown up nearly eight years ago, which leaves… Aah yes…"

Satisfied with his search, Styring wrote down the coordinates and shut down the computer, locking the files as he did so. He then reached towards the intercom and, when his secretary asked him what was up, gave her some short orders.

"Please prepare my private helicopter for a flight as soon as possible, I wish to do some flying this afternoon. I have a special appointment I must attend to this evening."

XXXxxxXXXxxx

A/N: this chapter officially marks the end of this story arc and, starting next chapter, we'll immediately set up for the next story arc. Please look forward to it.

As always, much thanks to my Beta, Kushin eX for helping with correcting this story. With some luck, I should be able to publish my new work, Two of a Kind, at the next update as well. Please look forward to it!

And, also as always, please leave a review telling me what you thought of the chapter.


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ, or the DBZ universe. Just borrowing them for a bit of fun.

* * *

Two weeks after the battle, Videl was at home, using the training center from where her father had started his own career as a martial artist so long ago. She was going through her forms, shadowing and imagining the movements of her enemy. An enemy that always switched between having a fast, accurate boxing style and bright green hair, to a large, sluggish person with grey skin.

Somewhere on the other side of the room, Sharpener was hitting the sandbags at a high pace, not giving the bag any time to come to a stop. He was now training here, at the Satan Gym, because both his apartment and his regular gym, which had been located in the school, had been completely destroyed. The moment that Hercule had heard about Sharpener's problem, he had picked up the phone and, in no uncertain terms, demanded that the muscular blond stay at their mansion. In fact, Hercule had said that Sharpener had no say in the matter and a room was already being prepared.

Since Orange Star High had been completely destroyed, they didn't have any more school. It also wasn't an option to relocate the school to a temporary location, simply because there was no other location left. As a result, the students of OSH where given time off until further notice, although the teachers did email them homework and assignments at a regular interval.

As the alarm went of, signaling Videl that she had spend ten minutes shadowing, the raven-haired fighter stopped to take a small break. Three minutes to let her muscles regain some nutrition and then another ten minutes of shadowing. Three sessions done, three more to go.

As she sat down to relax her muscles a bit, Videl looked out of the window and immediately her eyes found the battle site. Already, massive equipment was busy, carrying debris and flying in or out with tons of material. Fortunately for the Satan Family, their mansion was located on the outskirts outside of the battle zone. The house had suffered some damage, but it was all minor. Half the windows had been shattered, the paintings had all come down from the wall with the shocks and most of the lighter devices in the mansion would have to be replaced because they where broken. Other then that, there had been no noticeable damage done to the mansion.

It was remarkable how quickly everyone had gotten up and restored order, Videl realized as she stared out the window. A day and a half after Saiyaman had defeated Android #15 once and for all, the Styring Behersk Building Foundation, along with the Capsule Corporation Foundation and many other wealthy, powerful companies, funds and charity foundations had gathered and started clearing out the city. Ten more people had been found, nine where recovering nicely. The tenth had been buried three days ago. The death toll was now at a measly five.

And although the Satan Foundation wasn't actually supporting the clearing of Satan City – they would only help with the rebuilding of the city, since they where currently still focusing their attention to some regions in Africa – Hercule himself was driving all around the city to help cheer people up and ensure that the city would be restored. Every morning, Hercule would travel to two of the temporary shelters and there give speeches or demonstrations. A couple of times, he had even gone to help with the construction work, but his presence was more of a distraction to the other workers then it was an aid.

-TRIIIING-

The alarm went of, notifying Videl it was time for round #4. Getting back up, she took a quick glance at the calendar that was hanging on the wall. A red circle was placed on a date some two months away.

"Only two months." She mumbled, getting into her stance. "Two months before they estimate that the destroyed parts of Satan City will be inhabitable again, with the houses and other most critical center rebuild. Human resilience is pretty amazing."

Closing her eyes to focus for a second, Videl tried to recall the image of Saiyaman without his helmet. A second later, she could perfectly imagine the man in a black bodysuit, glowing golden. But he didn't have a face. She had never seen it. Without worrying about it, Videl charged forward, easily going into the motions for her offensive techniques. But Saiyaman, even if he was just a mental image, was evading all her attacks without a problem. He was just too fast. Speeding up further, Videl tried to smash her fist into the image's nose, but had to stop because of the shooting pain in her shoulder.

At once Videl stopped and sat back down. Her injuries had mostly been healed, only some bruises and scraps remained, but her body was still recovering from the intense beating she had taken. She was also in rehab with a physiotherapist and knew that she could get into trouble if she pulled a muscle, but for some reason she just couldn't sit still. Ever since the fight, she couldn't sit still.

It wasn't, like last time, that there was something stuck in her head, keeping her from her rest, but rather, she was… anxious. Saiyaman and those androids had put up the showdown of the century, but Videl had looked rather weak in comparison.

"Ehm, Miss Videl." a butler said as he walked up to her before she could go into a mental rant about being strong, "You have a phone call. It's from on Mr. Gohan."

"Ok, thanks." She answered, holding out her hand. The man placed the phone in her hand and then took a few steps back, keeping a discreet distance so he wouldn't appear to listen in on her call.

"Hey Gohan, what's up?" Videl asked, looking over at the cardio-equipment to see Erasa running on a treadmill. Like Sharpener, she was also staying over at the Satan Mansion, although she had claimed it was 'to protect Videl from Sharpener's evil, corrupt and perverted influences.' Videl knew that Erasa just didn't want to be left out of any possible gossip or arguments that might arise.

"Hey Videl, how're you all doing?" the calm voice of Gohan sounded on the other end.

"We're all doing pretty good." Videl replied, sitting down to make things more comfortable. "Sharpener's back to training on his normal level, Erasa is getting bored because no-one wants to go shopping and I'm feeling pretty good as well. And with you?"

"Yeah, everything's going ok over here as well, my mom was worried sick for a moment when she heard what was going on, but other then that, everything's going great. But, my mom wants me to ask you something, and it counts for all three of you. You, Sharpener and Erasa."

"Yeah, sure. Give me a second and I'll call in the others." Standing back up, Videl looked around. Erasa was coming off the machine, so now would be the time to call her. On the other side of the gym, Sharpener was also taking a break from punching the bags.

"SHARPENER, ERASA, GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" Videl roared, shocking the entire gymnasium, before turning back to the phone.

"They're heading here now." She said to Gohan.

"Oh really?" the dark-haired teen remarked with a hint of humor. "Sure they heard you? I think that the people over in China may have missed your shout."

"Oh haha, since when did you grow such a smart mouth?" Videl teasingly replied.

"Since I'm a long distance away and talking into a phone."

"What are you arguing about, Shouty?" Sharpener asked as he walked up to Videl, Erasa right behind him.

"Gohan has something he wants to ask all three of us." Videl replied. "Ok, Gohan I'm going to put you on speaker, so we can all hear it."

"Ok, you guys can hear me?"

"Yeah, loud and clear Nerd-boy." Sharpener replied, answering for all three of them.

"Well, see. My mom heard about what's happened in the city and that they're cleaning it up and all… and she asked me if…. If I would ask you three to come over to my place to stay for a while, at least while the city is being reconstructed."

"Say what?" Erasa piped up. "Stay over at your place?"

"Yeah, mom says that it'll be good for you guys to get out of the city, since so much's been going on over there lately. You know, get a change of surroundings. And she also wants to get to know you guys, because she's curious."

"They'll go, all three of them." A new, rough voice suddenly said from behind the trio of teenagers. Turning around, Videl was looking straight at her father, who was looking rather pleased.

"What? But dad, " Videl started, but she was immediately cut off.

"No buts Videl, you three need some time to relax. Hey kid, tell your mom that these three will be coming over for as long as she'll allow. And I'll pay for all the expanses, no arguing."

XxX

"So, kid, what can I do for you?" Bulma asked her godson as he sat on the couch sipping some tea. "You've obviously got something bothering you, what is it?"

"Well, Bulma, you see… my mom asked Videl, Sharpener and Erasa to come and stay over at our place for a while." Gohan started, not sure how to make his question.

"Really, that's great. You'll have your first ever slumber party with friends. And I hear two girl names… nice going, Gohan." The blue-haired genius teased with a laugh.

"It's not like that!" The half-saiyan instantly replied, his face burning scarlet. "But see, they saw me fight, as Saiyaman and well… they ehm, they saw my scar. It's not a problem hiding it at school, because I always wear long sleeves, but if they're staying over at my house there's a good possibility they'll see my scar and make the connection…"

"So, basically, you want to make sure they don't find the scar?" Bulma asked, looking into Gohan's eyes.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"The best way would be to have Dende remove it you know, no-one will ever see anything about it again."

"Yeah, it probably would be." Gohan said with obvious reluctance. "But I don't want to remove the scar, I just want to hide it from my friends."

"Why you're so attached to a scar, I'll never get." Bulma sighed as she reached for her pack of cigarettes, "But if you're so hell bent on keeping it, I think a small holographic projection is probably your best bet. I can start working on it, but it'll take a couple of days to finish the machine, and I'll have to make sure it matches your own arm, so I'll need to make a scan."

"Bulma, you're the best!" cheered up significantly, Gohan almost jumped his Godmother to hug her, but barely contained himself. Vegeta was standing in the doorway and it was a well known fact that, as far as Vegeta was concerned, anyone who touched Bulma and was not related to her by blood, deserved a serious beating.

Oddly enough, the Saiyan Prince turned around and left, not even insulting Gohan like he normally would have. The odd behavior reminded Gohan of something else as well.

"Hey Bulma, do you know why Vegeta never showed up during the fight with the androids? It would have been just his sort of thing: a strong opponent that would give him a challenge. Not to mention that Bra was around there, normally he never lets her stay in danger that long."

Looking through the doorway that Vegeta had been standing in, Bulma waited for a second before answering Gohan's question.

"No, I don't really know. But Vegeta and Trunks where training in the gravity chamber when everything was going on. They didn't come out for a couple of hours though, not until your fight was almost over. But, there is one thing you might find somewhat interesting…" Bulma answered, once again looking straight at Gohan. "Ever since you've defeated that last android, Trunks has been completely awe-struck by your power level. He always knew you were strong, but now that he's sensed a part of your real power. None of you have ever shown him or Goten your maximum power levels, although I bet it would leave quite an impression on the boys."

"Hmm, you're right, we never did show them what we're really capable off, did we?" Gohan realized. "But, on the subject of the holographic device, how long would it take to complete?"

"I don't know, four, maybe five days. I'll have to make sure it's waterproof and the like and make it appear as a bracelet, so that if it fails for some reason, you can cover it up pretty easy." Bulma thought out loud, already making calculations in her head. "But if I do that, it means I'll have a hologram around your entire left arm, that won't be a problem will it?"

"No, of course not, but is there any way to speed it up? Videl and the others are arriving tomorrow."

"No, if I speed it up, the programming will get flawed and that can give us a much bigger problem. But don't worry, just… wrap your shoulder in some bandages and say that you got hurt during the fight and your mom is making you bandage it up or something."

"That's a pretty good idea, I'll ask mom to bandage my shoulder then. Thanks Bulma."

"No problem kiddo, now let's go make some scans for that holographic device."

XxX

"What'd you think Erasa, should I take this dress as well, or should I just leave it here?" Videl asked as she pulled out another piece of clothing from her formidable clothing supply.

"Vi, this is so not like you…" Erasa mentioned from her position on the bed. "Normally you're the one that just grabs a bunch of t-shirts, shorts and other clothes, stuff them in a suitcase and you're done packing. Since when are you worrying about what clothes you take with you when you're going to be staying over?"

"Since we'll be staying over there for two months. I don't want to run out of clothes, and what if there's some sort of festival-like thing going on while we're there?" Videl countered, placing the dress back in the closet and scanning for more clothes.

"And since when do you care? Vi, you love shopping, but unless someone forces you, you never even really dress up… Are you worried because we'll be staying at Gohan's place?"

"No, I'm not worried about it, but it's just… I want Gohan's mom to get a good impression of me, and if she's an old-fashioned mom who thinks woman should wear dresses, I don't want to offend her or anything."

Erasa laid down her magazine and sat up, looking directly at Videl with a strange smirk on her face.

"What's this? The great Videl Satan, willing to change her habits for the mother of Gohan… Why would you be so desperate for Gohan's mom to get a good impression of you? Got any _plans_?" the odd, amusing movement Erasa made with her eyebrows as she said the last word made sure that Videl knew exactly what Erasa meant by 'plans.'

"No, but we'll be staying there for two months!" Videl repeated. "I think it's kind of important that she doesn't hate us. It would be nice if she liked us. I mean, have you heard the way Gohan talks about her!? Obviously, she's really strict, so we have to make sure we get along."

"I get it…" Erasa teasingly said, still smiling at Videl in that strange way. "You want to make sure Mommy likes you before you go and seduce Gohan."

Erasa wasn't fast enough to dodge the shirt that Videl threw in her direction for that remark, but the bubbly blond didn't miss the hint of red on her friend's face.

"Why do you always think that? How do you know I even like him? I sure as hell didn't complain when you were packing your bags and asked advice every ten seconds!"

"Oh, that seals the deal." Erasa said, giggling as she removed the shirt. At Videl's curious, and somewhat angered, look she tried to explain. "You didn't deny you like him, and normally you go really fiery when I make a false accusation. And don't try to deny it now girl, I've _seen_ you check him out."

This time, Erasa moved her head just in time to evade one of Videl's now-flying shoes.

"Not that I blame you girl," she continued, laughing while Videl got redder and redder, "he's good-looking, nice, tall, cute and smart. What more could you want?"

"I'd want you to shut up. I don't like Gohan. alright!" Videl angrily exclaimed as she dumped more clothing into one of her suitcases. "You try to make a good impression once, and this is how people take it… I swear…"

"But you know, Vi…" Erasa said a minute or so later, when Videl had already cooled down a bit. "If we're staying at his house, I'm sure we can catch a view peaks of Gohan without that shirt of his on. I wouldn't mind that, how about you?"

Videl immediately slammed her trunk closed, glared at Erasa once while fighting of the raising color in her face and turned around.

"I've got to go. I've got my physio appointment." Without waiting for a response, Videl angrily walked out of her room, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.

Erasa took a quick look at the clock before bursting out laughing: Videl still had over half an hour before she would have to leave for her appointment.

"Oh well, now that I've teased her enough for one day, let's make sure her bags are well-packed." She said, getting up from the bed and going over to Videl's closet.

XxX

"Gohan, have you cleaned the bathroom already? Make sure that you give the bath and the toilet a good scrub. It would be far too embarrassing for your friends to get here and find our house a mess." Chichi inquired as she stood before her two sons, both of them carrying a large supply of cleaning material, ranging from brooms to buckets of water.

"Yes mom, I've already cleaned the bathroom twice now." Gohan patiently said, watching Goten next to him.

Since yesterday morning, when Gohan had confirmed that Videl, Sharpener and Erasa would be staying over, Chichi had ordered the boys to help her in cleaning the house. She had issued the same order this morning, just before breakfast, which meant the boys would have to help clean or not eat their breakfast at all, and again this afternoon.

"Ok, that's alright dear." The Son matron said, "I'll go and see it in a little bit. Goten, how did you do with cleaning your room? Did you vacuum the entire room this time instead of just the biggest part of the floor?"

"Yes mom. I've lifted the bed, the bookcase, the wardrobe, everything and vacuum underneath it, just like you said." The seven-year old replied, standing in what he thought was a good imitation of a soldier's salute when reporting.

"Ok, good work you two, I think we've cleaned everything now." She finally concluded, looking over the outside of the house one more time. "I'll go over it all one more time, just to make sure. Now, boys, you remember what I said about showing your powers right? Especially you Goten."

"Yes mom." The two half-Saiyans said at the same time. "No flying, moving at high speeds or lifting anything heavy, and absolutely no using or talking about energy."

"That's my boys." Chichi smiled at them. "Now, we still have to do something about the sleeping arrangements. The two girls can have the master bedroom, if they're ok with sleeping in the same bed, and I'll sleep in either the guestroom or your room, depending on which room that Sharpener-boy likes best. Goten can stay in his own room, but it's too small to set up a camping bed for you, Gohan. But the only other place we have is the couch. And I don't think you'll like sleeping on there for anything longer then two days."

"Yeah, you're right. But how about if I go to the village now and order a small capsule house?" Gohan suggested, hit by a sudden wave of inspiration. "They'll have to order it, but I think it'll be there within the week. I can stay in there. It would probably help out with my work a lot as well, since Bulma asked me to work some more hours now that I don't have any more school. She can't do all the work anymore, because she wants to spend some more time with Bra to make sure she's alright."

"Hmm, yes, that's a good idea Gohan. Better go now, if you hurry, you'll be back in time for me to put that bandage on before your friends arrive."

"Got it mom." Gohan said, already floating up a few centimeters in the air. "Be back in a flash." Gohan turned around and shot off, flying faster then Chichi's eyes could see.

XxX

"How much longer is it?" Sharpener asked for the fifth time in an hour.

"It's not far, now shut up or I'm throwing you out!" Videl, thoroughly annoyed, said from the controls.

"Yeah, well you didn't spend the last two hours with a couple of two ton suitcases on your legs." The blond man replied. "Seriously, what did you two pack? This thing is stuffed! I'm surprised we could even lift off back at Satan City."

"Sharpener, would you be quiet already?" Erasa asked, sitting next to Videl. "Just because you can pack all your clothing into one suitcase, doesn't mean we can. Unlike you, we still have clothes. You had to buy a whole new wardrobe just before we left."

The trio was sitting in Videl's Jetcopter, although it was indeed stuffed to the max. because Videl didn't want to fly twice, or bring an escort along, the three teenagers had stuffed all their belongings into the machine at once, before sitting down themselves. Because there where only two seats, Sharpener had the bad luck of having to sit in between the baggage. And for the past two hours, half an hour after they had launched, he had been carrying one of Erasa's biggest suitcases, since it wasn't properly attached and was threatening to start flying through the machine.

"According to this, we should be arriving there in about 5 minutes." Erasa said, looking over the digital map again.

"Finally!" Sharpener cried out from behind them.

"Keep that up and I'll start flying in large circles, just to annoy you!" Videl threatened.

"Look, there it is!" Erasa suddenly yelled, pointing through the front window. "I think that's the place, it's the only house around for a while. Wow, I never thought Gohan would live in such a solitary area."

"It does explain his social awkwardness though." Videl said as she lowered her altitude. "I'm setting her down at the end of the grassy field around the house, so get ready to land."

Two minutes later, Videl had landed her copter, pulled Sharpener free from Erasa's suitcase and was helping her best friend out of the jetcopter without making her fall. As soon as Erasa's feet touched solid ground, Sharpener jumped out of the doorway, crouching deep to get some feeling in his legs again. Turning around, they could see Gohan and his family walking towards them.

A small boy, dressed in an orange fighting gi, was running circles around Gohan as the teenager made his way towards them. Following right behind the two brothers, was Gohan's mother. Although Videl was sure she had never met her before, she looked quite familiar, with her shoulder-length black hair, Chinese dress and confident posture.

" Ehm, allow me to introduce you all." Gohan finally said, walking in the middle. "This little whirlwind is my younger brother, Goten."

"Hello, It's a pleasure to meet you." Goten said, making a formal bow that, to all three teenagers, looked very unnatural. As if to confirm their suspicions, the boy turned around to his mom and asked "Was that ok, mom?"

Said mother, looked at her youngest son and let out a sigh.

"This is my mother, Chi-chi."

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you, I've heard so much about you." Chi-chi said, also making a small bow towards her guests.

"And from my school, we have Videl, Erasa and Sharpener." Gohan finished, pointing at each of them in turn.

"Thank you very much for having us ma'am." Videl said, returning Chi-chi's bow.

"It's also a pleasure to meet you." Erasa added.

"And I add myself to that." Sharpener finally said. "It's a pleasure to meet you both and thank you very much for having us over. I've been interested in meeting with Gohan's family for a while now."

* * *

And another chapter done. as you might notice this chapter wasn't all that easy to write, but I've had it pretty busy lately. Work, school, sports, a training trip to Portugal and working on a very large Final Fantasy X Oneshot have all drained a lot of my time.

On another note, I have now also posted the first chapter of my second DBZ fanfiction: Two of a Kind. For those who are interested in more Gohan-goodyness, please read that story, since it's story focuses almost completely on Gohan.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints for both myself and my beta's, I have been unable to update this story in time, or get it properly beta'd. so, any mistakes you noticed are all mine.

I'm glad you all liked the previous chapter, and I would like to thank you all for your reviews. I have now officially gotten over 500 reviews for this story!

And as always, please leave a review, telling me what you think.

Much thanks to Stalker of Stories for showing me an insane amount of spelling and grammar mistake's i've made in this story... guess that's what happens when it's not beta'd.


	34. Chapter 34

TI 34: Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ, the DBZ universe or anything like it. Just borrowing it for some fun of my own.

* * *

"Ok, Goten, you carry that one." Gohan said as he handed Goten a small beauty case, while carrying two large suitcases himself. Goten nearly pouted over having to carry something so light, but with his mother nearby he didn't want to risk it. So instead he simply turned around and dashed to the house to place the beauty case next to the other bags that Gohan's friends had brought along.

After the Son family had been introduced to Gohan's friends, Chichi had offered the three teenagers some refreshments so they could engage in some small talk, but it hadn't lasted very long. After Gohan and Goten had emptied their cups of tea, the two had stood up and started unloading Videl's jet-copter, while Chichi started to explain what kind of arrangements she had thought off for sleeping. But before she had even managed to say where the girls would be sleeping – which had been the first thing she was going to explain – Sharpener and Videl had both stood up and walked over to the jet-copter to help unloading it. By now, the four had fallen into a smooth rhythm.

Much to Goten's annoyance, he wasn't allowed to carry more then one case each time, although he could have easily carried the entire jet-copter with the cases still inside, to keep up appearances. Videl, Gohan and Sharpener each carried two suitcases each time they came out, keeping up a steady and fast stream. Before long, there was a small mountain of bags, suitcases, beauty cases and other objects located next to the house, with Erasa and Chichi busy splitting the pile into three, one for each teenager.

All in all, the unloading took almost forty minutes, by the end of which Chichi had managed to strike up a friendly conversation with Erasa and was already beginning to get fond of the girl. The same also applied to the other two teenagers, who where obviously not the types to sit around and let others do all the work.

'_I like them already._' Chichi thought. '_Not to mention that both of these girls are really pretty. Gohan made some really good friends. __Imagine __the grandchildren those girl could give me… and that Sharpener-boy seems really nice too._'

Just as she thought that, Chichi looked up to see Sharpener lift Goten up and place him inside the jet-copter, which was now empty. Obviously, Goten could have gotten in himself, even if he didn't have his inhuman strength, but it was still a nice gesture of the long-haired blonde. After Sharpener had finished his little tour of the machine, the two rejoined the table, sitting next to Gohan and grinning all the while. Videl returned the jet-copter to it's capsule, made some irritated remark that Chichi couldn't quite hear just yet, but she had a feeling that she didn't want to know, based on the glare that the raven-haired girl send in their way.

"Well, now that that's done, let's continue with the arrangements of the rooms. Would you all like a cup of tea while I explain it?" After pouring six cups full of tea, Chichi finally started the explanation.

"Unfortunately, we're one room short but we've already fixed that." She started. "Gohan's ordered a small capsule house from the village nearby, and he'll be sleeping in the capsule house, with Goten there to keep him company. The three of you can sleep in the main house, and I'll be staying in here as well."

That already started some arguments, with the three guests saying that she didn't have to go through all that, but after a few moments Chichi had managed to silence them with the argument that it was already arranged for the capsule house to be delivered.

"Gohan told me that you two are best friends, so I was hoping you two wouldn't mind sharing a bed together." The two girls nodded to indicate they wouldn't mind, "then you two could take the master bedroom, it has a big and comfy two-person bed. And I was planning on letting you take either Gohan's room or the guest room, whichever you prefer." Chichi quickly said to Sharpener.

"We can't do that!" Videl said with shock. "The Master bedroom is your bedroom isn't it? We can't take that room. We'll just go sleep in whatever room Sharpener doesn't pick and set up a second bed there or something."

"That's nice of you dear but I wouldn't want anyone to sleep on a makeshift bed for that long. I really quite insist that you take the master bedroom, and no arguing on that!"

"But we can't take it, it's your room!" the black haired girl returned.

"And I'm telling you you're going to stay in there, end of discussion." Chichi said back. It was Sharpener who stopped the argument by speaking up.

"So, I'm staying in the house with Videl, Erasa and you?" he said, a level or horror in his voice. "I'm the only guy in the house… with Videl and Erasa practically in the next room?"

"Well, that was the idea." Chichi said, unsure what to make of Sharpener's reaction.

"No way… That'll be the end of me… I'm not going to stay in there as the only guy… Videl and Erasa would never give me a moment's rest… how do I – THAT'S IT!"

Suddenly, without any warning, Sharpener turned around to address Goten, grabbing the boy by the shoulder and acting like he was begging something from the pint-sized Saiyan.

"Goten, my good man, we need to switch places!"

"Why?" the boy asked with a curious look on his face.

"Because…" Hesitating for a second, Sharpener realized that saying 'I don't want to be alone in the house with all those women' would not bode well. Both his image and ego would take to serious a beating from that. So instead, he opted for something else.

"Because we need a really strong and reliable man in the house to protect the woman!" he finally said, much to the amusement of everyone else at the table. Goten, however, seemed to take it all for fact and continued his questioning.

"What from?"

"Ehm…. The Boogieman!" Sharpener lamely said. This was all that was needed for Videl to finally burst out in loud laughter, but Goten didn't notice it.

"Ah-ha!" he shouted triumphantly, pumping his fist in the air for emphasis. "I told Trunks that Marron and I where right! The Boogieman does exist! I'm going to rub that in on his face! But I'd better make sure Bra isn't around… she's still scared of the Boogieman. Ok Mister Sharpener, you can count on me!" Finished with his little monologue, Goten assumed a military stance again, saluting Sharpener. "I'll make sure no-one, not even the Boogieman or his henchmen Ponkfoot and Hungknocker will get anywhere near them! I'll protect them as best I can!"

"Thanks Goten, you're a lifesaver! I don't know what we'd do without you." Sharpener said, also holding back a laugh, still trying to think of where on earth Goten could have heard about any henchmen that The Boogieman had. Sharpener had never heard about any henchmen.

At the other end of the table, Chichi had watched with wonder as she saw Sharpener already manipulating Goten without a problem, something that apart from Bulma, Trunks and herself hardly anyone could do.

'_This really could be fun!_' she mused as she saw the two now exchange salutes with each other. '_He's definitely a fast learner. Gohan's made some really good friends._'

XxX

A few hours later, after most of the bags had been moved to the proper rooms, Gohan was out showing the others around to give them some idea of the mountains.

"Now, you guys keep in mind that up here in the mountains, the weather can change rather quickly. For the next two or so weeks, the weather is still unstable, switching between raining and sunshine, but after that the weather will be sunshine most of the time." He explained as he went. "For the most part, you can just follow the paths through the forest and mountains and you'll always reach one of the major road marks."

As they turned around the next corner, reaching the exit of the forest, a large glitter could be seen from a distance. Just out of the forest was something that was reflecting a lot of sunlight.

"If you ever get lost, just go to one of the road marks and we'll find you there." Gohan finished as the group walked out of the forest. Now that they had a clear view of the area, all three city-born teenagers where stunned.

They were standing on the beach of a small mountain lake, the water of it so light that they could see into the depths of the lake even from their position on the beach. The lake was fed its water by a natural waterfall just a little to the north of their position, and another waterfall was at the south end, this one leading the water out of the lake. The lake, while small, would have taken more then a couple of hours to swim across, but that only added to the beautiful image of it.

"And this is the place to go if you want to swim, relax or catch some fish." Gohan explained after a minute. "This is 'the really big puddle' or, more commonly known as 'Big Mountain Lake.' My dad named it that when he still lived here."

"Big Mountain Lake?" Sharpener questioned with an amused grin. "Original name…"

"Yeah well…" Gohan said, grinning back while rubbing the back of his neck. "Most of the places around here where named by my dad, me and Goten when we where still kids so don't expect the most creative of names."

"So, we can take a swim here if we want right?" Erasa asked, looking around the lake again. "This is going to be awesome."

"Yeah, it's a really nice place to swim and it's easy to find. Just follow the path behind the house all the way through and you reach the lake."

But Sharpener and Erasa weren't really listening anymore, instead they where both pulling up the hem of their jeans, threw of their socks and shoes and dashed towards the lake.

"Last one in has to eat Gohan's BOXERS!!!"

"Hey guys!" Gohan called out, but he now saw that Videl was also running after them, her socks and shoes discarded.

Suddenly, from the midst of the lake, a large beast burst out, flapped its wings and at once turned towards them. Despite its immense bulk, it was flying far to fast for the teenagers to outrun. It was upon them in a matter of seconds, so they did the thing every sensible teenager would do in that situation.

They screamed like a couple of little girls.

This apparently drew even more attention from the beast; who suddenly shot upwards, no doubt to crash into them from above and crush them.

"NO!" Gohan shouted somewhere from the side. "Stop it!"

It was only after several seconds had already passed, the trio still screaming, that they noticed nothing had happened yet. Stopping their team scream, the three carefully opened one eye and looked up, expecting the find the dragon looming down on them with a dangerous and deadly look.

There was nothing there.

"Calm down, there's nothing wrong." Gohan could be heard from the side. In the same direction they could hear a sound similar to the dragon's cry.

Turning around the trio of teenagers faced Gohan and where shocked by what they saw. Instantly their horror turned into amusement as all three burst out laughing.

The dragon was standing behind Gohan, its claws on his shoulders as it kept the teen in front of it and the dragon itself was trying to make itself as small as possible behind Gohan. The large, dangerous looking purple-skinned, twenty-three foot tall dragon was trying – and failing miserably – to hide behind Gohan, glancing over in the direction of the trio every once in a while.

"Relax, there's nothing wrong, just calm down." Gohan said again, now trying to lift the claws from his shoulders. Looking over at the teenagers again and then back at Gohan, the dragon apparently calmed down a bit and released Gohan's shoulders. Once it had released him, the dragon stepped back a few paces and laid down on it's belly, making it considerably smaller, although it was still almost twice as high as Sharpener's head.

"Everyone meet Icarus." Gohan introduced, pointing towards the dragon. "Icarus, these are my friends. They're staying over at my house for a while."

"Gya?" Icarus replied, lifting its head a bit to look at the teenagers a bit better.

"No, they're not mean or scary. They where shouting because you scared them."

"Gya! Gya-gyaa-ga!" no, Icarus was wildly shaking its head to the sides, shaking it as he cried out.

"Yes, Icarus I know you didn't mean it. Now calm down and I'll finish your introduction."

"Gya!" obeying the order from Gohan, the dragon laid its head back down, allowing Gohan to continue.

"As you guys can see, Icarus is a dragon. But don't let that surprise you: he can be a big coward when he faces something new. He was scared because of you guys screaming and he says he's also sorry for scaring you three." Gohan explained, one hand resting on Icarus' head as he talked.

"We scared him?" Sharpener asked with surprise. "He scared us!"

"Yeah I know, that's why he says he's sorry. He was out in the lake to catch some fish and he heard me talking so he came over to play. But you don't have to worry about anything, Icarus is a really a big old softy."

Still glancing over at the three new teenagers, Icarus stood up, standing on all four of it's legs, and slowly walked forward until his face was mere inches away from the teens. Looking at each of them in turn, like he was carefully studying them, he took nearly a minute to stare at them before drawing his head back a little.

Then, with a satisfied "Gya-ga!" he suddenly lunged his head forward and, in one go, licked all of them with his massive tongue.

XxX

"Can you believe how much Goten and Gohan can eat?" Erasa asked Videl again as they where carrying clothes around. "And I thought Gohan was bad at school… that was a little snack compared to how much he eats here."

"Yeah, it was really weird." Videl agreed, placing the clothes she was carrying on the guest room's bed, where Chichi quickly placed them in the appropriate closets.

"Oh, that was nothing. You should have seen the way their father used to eat." Chichi mentioned with her head still inside the closet. "It's some sort of family thing, they all have an insane metabolism and eat like a starved village. But honestly, Gohan and Goten look like very civilized and modest eaters compared to their father. Now that man really was a black hole for food."

"Even more then Gohan ate? Where does he leave it all?"

"Well, he used to burn everything up by training nearly twenty-four-seven. There where only a few things that could stop his training. Dinner, Gohan's cry for help as a baby a good fight and -" for a second, Chichi stopped before realizing what she was about to say. "But you wouldn't be interested in that, so let's just carry on shall we? We're almost done."

"Yeah; sure thing, Mrs Son." Videl said, turning back to the master bedroom. "And when we're done moving your clothes to the guest room, we'll start unpacking our own bags."

"Please dear, it's Chichi, not Mrs. Son."

"Of course Chichi. I'll be back in a 'sec."

Suddenly there was a bright flash of light outside, followed by a strong rumble a few seconds later. Looking out of the windows, Videl and Erasa saw that it was now pouring down with rain, accompanied by the occasional bolt of lighting.

"Wow, Gohan wasn't kidding when he said the weather changes fast, was he?" Erasa asked, her head leaning on Videl's shoulder. "It was still a clear sky half an hour ago…"

"Yeah, like I said, the weather's a bit ahead of the city around here and it's more intense as well. But the bad weather will pass in a couple of days and then it'll be really great around here." Gohan said, walking out of the bathroom next to them.

Although all of the boys had offered to help, they had been politely refused, so instead they had brushed their teeth, prepared the couch for Gohan to sleep on, while Sharpener took Gohan's bed, and based on his wet hairs, Gohan had just taken a shower as well.

"Yeah, it really does!" Goten joined in, walking out of his room with a towel draped over his shoulder, ready for his own shower. "It's always this really yucky weather for a while and it's great for capturing bugs and other little animals. But mummy never lets me keep them…" with the undeniable cuteness of an innocent seven year old, Goten pouted for a second before continuing. "But when the weather clears up there are hardly any bugs showing any more. Only the really pesky ones like flies and stuff… I don't like flies; they make too much noise and are too small to catch. But when the weather is nicer I can always play outside and it's always really hot. And I always make Trunks jealous with just how brown I become when I'm playing outside all the time. He's almost as white as a ghost compared to me sometimes!"

"Goten, I think it's time for you to shower." His mother remarked from the guest room. "We're still busy and I don't think the girls really want to hear about all the competitions that you and Trunks always hold."

"Yes mom, I'm going to take a shower now." Goten returned, looking somewhat crestfallen. Erasa knelt down so she was on eyelevel with him, ruffled his hair a bit and tried to cheer him up.

"Hey kid, when we have some time and the weather's cleared up, maybe you can tell me about some of those competitions that you and your friend hold, kay? I'm kind of curious about it now."

"For real?!" Goten immediately piped up. Seeing Erasa's friendly nod, he immediately continued. "Ok, sure! I'll tell you about all of the competitions we have! Some of them where really cool! Once we held a competition about who could pee the farthest, I won it!" he finished with a proud grin.

"Goten! Shower!" Chichi's voice reminded him from the guest room again. At once the young child turned around and ran into the bathroom, leaving a somewhat shocked and dumbfound Erasa behind, still crouched down.

"Hehe; sorry about that." Gohan said, chuckling behind her and rubbing his neck in embarrassment again. "He and Trunks always have the strangest things going on. Sometimes they just end up fighting like a couple of ruffians, and other times they play pranks on others. And if they don't do either of that, they're usually of holding some kind of competition that Trunks thought of. But let me warn you: you're in for hearing some weird stuff from Goten, half of which is not really understandable. Just be prepared for it."

"Sure…thing…" Erasa answered before turning around, muttering something about 'boys' under her breath and returning to the work, joining Videl who had returned to the room a minute earlier.

Once downstairs, Gohan walked over to the kitchen, grabbed a pitcher of milk from the fridge and emptied it in one go, draining all two litters in it in, despite having just brushed his teeth. Done with his little before-sleep-drink, Gohan turned back to the living room to go sleep on the coach, but was surprised to find Sharpener standing in the room. Once the blond saw Gohan had re-entered the room, he waved his hand in greeting before speaking up.

"Hey Gohan, I wanted to ask you if you could advice for a route to use for my roadwork in the morning."

"You want to start your running tomorrow already? Why not wait a couple of days and get used to the environment first?" Gohan asked instead.

"Yeah, I can't really do that." The blond answered. "I have a match coming up about three weeks after we come back to Satan City, so I have to make sure I stay in top shape. And besides that, I know myself. If I don't start right away, I'll keep stalling it out until it's way too late. It's best to just start right away. And besides, I have you to find me if I get lost, right?"

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Gohan realized. If Sharpener did get lost, it would be a matter of seconds for Gohan to find him on these mountains. He was familiar with each and every life form on it, so he could simply isolate Sharpener's energy and get over there before bringing the blond back. "Ok, let me explain an easy route you can use to start with. It'll all stay around the same altitude, so that won't be too much of a problem. Just remember, you are higher up in here then you where in the city, so be sure to take some rest if you feel dizzy and don't push to far. Your body still has to adjust."

"I know, don't worry. This isn't the first time I've trained in the mountains, we always went on trainings camp here for the last three of so years. I'll be fine. You guy's won't even notice that I'm gone, I'll be back before breakfast."

"Ok then; I think this is the best route for you to follow." Gohan said, pulling out a map from underneath the table and starting to point out the route.

XxX

At almost eight in the morning the following day, everyone in the house was beginning to get worried. Sharpener had left the house early, before anyone else had woken up, to start his roadwork but he still hadn't come back, even though he had been gone for well over two hours. Adding to their worry was the thunderstorm that had started half an hour ago.

"That's it; I'm going to go look for him." Gohan announced, grabbing his raincoat and moving towards the door.

"We'll help you look." Videl immediately said, also reaching for her coat, but Gohan's hand stopped her arm, holding her at the wrist.

"I'm sorry Videl, but you can't. You don't know the mountain any more then Sharpener does. In the worst case scenario, I would have to find all three of you again. Just let me look for him, I know these mountains better then anyone else. And I know the route that Sharpener was taking, so he's most likely somewhere near it. I'll be back before you know it."

"But…." Videl started, but she realized that Gohan was right. She still wanted to help, but if she went out now, there was more chance of her becoming a liability then an aid. She knew that was the truth, but she still hated it. She hated being so powerless. Gohan could see it, so he placed his hands on her shoulder, calming her down.

"Don't worry." He said, looking her directly in the eyes. "I'll find him before you know it. And I'll call you the moment I find him, just to let you all know that we're doing good."

With that assurance, Gohan turned around, put on his coat and dashed out the door. Powerless to help, Videl moved over to the window, staring out of it, while Erasa was sitting on the couch, watching television with Goten.

Once he was outside, Gohan first made a dash towards the Big Mountain Lake, knowing that was where he had advised Sharpener to start his roadwork. As he ran away from the house, at least until he was completely out of sight, Gohan quickly went over his options.

'_Sharpener's not a fool, so he hasn't moved out of the course too much. I think he'll be hiding from the rain somewhere, so I'll start with caves and other easy hiding places near the lake._'

Now that he was out of the house's field of vision, Gohan stopped running and instead spread out his energy sensing ability. There was nothing in the immediate area, which meant that Sharpener was further back. Gohan continued to systematically screen the entire surroundings, broadening his search area every few seconds, until he finally found an unfamiliar, human energy signal.

At once, Gohan turned in its direction and dashed forward at his real speed, barely stopping himself from creating a sonic boom as he went. Using his inhuman speed, Gohan had reached Sharpener's energy signal a few seconds later. Slowing down, Gohan looked around to see where he was.

It was at the end of the route he had told Sharpener to use for his roadwork, well over an hour away from the house.

'_Why is Sharpener still around here?_' Gohan thought with surprise, looking around. After about half a minute of searching, Gohan had found Sharpener's exact location and moved towards it. Sitting atop a rock in the middle of a clearing that was protected from most of the rain by a roof of strong and thick leaves, was Sharpener. As soon as Gohan entered the clearing, he moved a hand over his face as if to wake him-self up or rub him-self clean, and turned around to face his friend.

"Hey Sharpener, what're you still doing here?" Gohan asked when he walked closer. "Everyone's worried about you; we thought you would have been back a long time ago."

"I waited for you to come here, because we needed to talk, without anyone else listening in." the blond stated, his eyes still completely focused on Gohan.

"What'd you mean? What do you want to talk about?" Gohan asked; surprise obvious on his face.

"We need to talk, because I know you're Saiyaman."

XxX

"Well, well, well…" Styring Behersk muttered as he walked slowly down the steel corridor. "I must say this place is rather impressive."

After he had been dropped of by his personal helicopter, Styring had spent several hours wandering throughout the mountains in search of a specific cave. During that time he had more then once been forced to accept that his body was no longer as strong as it had been thirty or so years ago, but this was a job he could not – and would not – allow to be done by anyone else. He was to be the only one who would know about the possibility of an alliance.

And, besides that, if he was really honest to himself, it felt good to have some excitement flow through his sixty-some year old body again. These last thirty-five years, Styring had been doing nothing but sit in his office and do the thinking- or paperwork, but he had always remembered where he started: out in the streets, working and fighting for his very life.

And now he was out on the field once again, feeling as if he was risking his life. He had never realized how much he had missed the feeling.

It had taken the aged mob-boss a while, but he had finally found the cave that he was looking for. Once inside, it had changed from a natural formation into a steel-build human-made facility within half a mile. That was the hallway he was walking in right now.

Glancing around, he could see hints of technological devices but he didn't fully realize that he was possibly walking into a deathtrap until he saw the door at the end of the hallway. The huge walls, easily seven foot high, where made of solid steel, enforced at the top, bottom, sides and even in the middle. There was not a single place on them that Styring could use to gain some grip. And, form the looks of the place, using explosives to blow them open would result in half the tunnel coming down on him, not that he was actually carrying anything with him.

He would be stuck here, outside of the door to the technological fortress, for a long time, if the doors hadn't opened a few seconds after his arrival. Taking a deep breath, Styring stepped forward, passed the two-foot-thick doors and into a large open room.

It was immediately obvious that this was the place he had been looking for: the room was perfectly orb-shaped in tribute to old scientists or because it was the most convenient form, and littered all over with pieces of machinery, wired, tools and several high-tech pieces of equipment, most of torn to pieces or otherwise spread all over. All together, it looked like someone had torn the place apart.

Before he could take more then four steps into the room, Styring was suddenly grabbed around the waist by very strong and cold arms, lifted off his feet and moved through the room with mechanical precision, before being turned around one-hundred-eighty degrees and being spun around. He was now staring straight into a darkened part of the lab, where he could see a small figure sitting, its back towards him. Looking around some more, Styring noticed that he was being held by a mechanical claw that looked similar to the ones he had seen in some cartoons; only this version came equipped with several other objects to improve it. Among them, a chainsaw and a long shining blade stood out the most.

"So, you have come." The figure in the dark said, the chair turning around. In the dark, it was impossible for Styring to identify the person, but the voice was definitely male, although there where hints of instability in it. A male with a lot of hair; a small body and strange and deformed limbs. "Another biological imbecile, not worthy of existing. You are a fool for coming alone, but that will soon be over. I knew since your arrival when your helicopter landed near here. Your pathetic life will be put to an end."

"Wait!" Styring yelled, seeing the chainsaw on the claw starting up. "Don't kill me; I am here to give you an offer."

The figure didn't respond, instead turning back around to return to its previous work. The chainsaw was now coming dangerously close to Styring's body.

"I know you created those fifteen androids that attacked Satan City!" he yelled in desperation. "That's why I'm here; I want to help you rebuild them!"

"Stop" The command was soft, but it was immediately obeyed by the machines. Now the figure turned around, stood up from its chair and walked to the edge of the shadows, carefully staying just out of sight. "Rebuild them, you say? Why would you offer me that?"

"Because I have need of them, they are the only ones who can complete a certain mission I have in mind."

"Why would I help you then?"

"Because I can give you the means to rebuild them, stronger, faster and better then ever. Name what you want and you'll get it. Assistants, test-subjects, money anything you need and I'll give it to you. I will give you everything you may need or want to rebuild those androids and ask in return that you will in return grant me one favor of them."

"What favor or mission are you talking of?"

"It's actually a variation of missions, with several targets that I wish your androids to take care of. No normal human could comply with my wishes but for your androids they would not be too much of a problem, especially after you have upgraded them."

The figure looked around, staring at each of the fifteen tubes in the lab in turn, before turning around.

"Tell me what missions you mean and who your targets are. We have an accord."

* * *

A/N:

Another chapter over and done with. I hope you like it.

As always, much thanks to my beta's Kushin eX and Angel-Fantasy for reading over his chapter.

Please review and tell me what you think.


	35. Chapter 35

TI 35:

* * *

"I know you're Saiyaman."

The words Sharpener had said still echoed in Gohan's head as he was shocked for a second.

"Wha?" he replied, seeing Sharpener stand up and looking at him. "What're you talking about Sharpener. I can't be… what makes you think… it's not…really… I can't be…"

"Can it Gohan." The blond said as he slowly walked towards the revealed superhero. "You always were a lousy liar. I'm not speculating, I know you're him. I saw the evidence when you saved us from those androids."

"What're you talking about?" Sharpener was only an arm's length away now.

"This!" sharpener said as he grabbed Gohan's left shoulder. "I saw the scars that where all over your body a couple months back, at Videl's birthday, remember? If you remember anything about it, you were stone dead drunk after one drink. After you passed out, Videl and I dragged you to one of the bedrooms and I had to take off your clothes so you could sleep. I saw all the scars on your body."

Gohan didn't say anything, still being held in Sharpener's vice-like grip.

"I saw the cross-shaped scar on your shoulder because it stood out above the others, it was far more severe then the others. I thought to myself; 'most of those scars are all minor, they're probably from living outdoors all his life, maybe he used to do a lot of things like climbing trees and stuff, which could have resulted in those scars.' But the one on your shoulder I couldn't really place. There was no way that was from a fall or anything. It was unlike any scar I've ever seen. I was planning on asking you about it at school, but you know just as well as I do what happened the day after."

"Yeah," Gohan said, his mind immediately jumping back to the hostage-taking by the former CCDD soldiers. "I remember."

"It slipped my mind after everything that's happened, but it was never really all that important, just some small curiosity. Actually I'd almost forgotten about that scar, until I saw it again, when Satan City was on the verge of destruction. When Saiyaman was still under the rubble of our school and those androids attacked us directly, he burst free with golden hair and saved us. When he did, I had a clear view of his left shoulder, seeing the familiar cross-shaped scar. It all made sense once I thought of it. You always disappeared just before Saiyaman arrived. You made us think you were a coward, but whenever you were really needed, you were the first to take action."

"What'd you mean?" Gohan asked, surprised in the sudden change of topic.

"With both the CCDD and the Androids you where the one who immediately took control of the situation, making sure that something was going on. And don't think I'll forget that. You saved our lives not once, but twice."

"Look Sharpener…" Gohan started, but Sharpener didn't let him finish before speaking up again.

"Look Gohan, I've told you that I know you're Saiyaman because I wanted you to know that I knew. So you have someone you know can help you if you need it and, hopefully, you can trust me. But no matter what happens I will not tell anyone who you are if you don't want me to. It's the least I can do after you saved all three our lives twice."

"I didn't save your lives twice." Gohan objected, but again Sharpener cut him off.

"You did. I don't know if you're the Commander himself or not – your attitude is too different, but you could be him in terms of fighting ability, if you're not far superior to him – but you're the one who ensured that the CCDD appeared at the scene, which resulted in no-one from the school getting hurt. That's something that I'm very grateful for."

For a few seconds, Gohan was completely dumbfounded at the blonde's confession, before he could speak up again.

"Ehm…yeah…sure Sharpener. You're welcome, I suppose." He nervously rubbed his neck, not sure what to say. "But, ehm, if you could keep my identity as Saiyaman a secret, that'd be really nice. I kind of don't want anyone to find out."

"Sure thing," Sharpener immediately replied. "But… do you want to keep it a secret from Videl and Erasa as well?"

"Well, if possible, yes. I'd prefer it if no-one else knows about it…"

"Well in that case, I think you're screwed right now. The moment Videl thinks that something's suspicious, she'll go full detective on you and won't stop until she has uncovered the secret. And with your ability to lie – or lack thereof – she'll crack you open in two seconds flat. And, of course, let's not forget the factor of you or someone else making a slip-up now that we're staying over at your place. You'll be lucky if the secret's still standing after two weeks."

"What?" Gohan said with surprise. "What'd you mean? And more importantly, what am I going to do about it…"

"I'm saying that if Goten has your ability of lying, combined with the naivety of a child, he'll blow your cover in no time at all." Sharpener said. "But there's one thing you can do to try and stop it; learn to lie."

"Learn to lie?" Gohan repeated. "I don't think that's going to be that easy… My mom will not be happy if she finds out that I'm lying… and even besides that, it's not like you can learn lying just like that. Right?"

"Well, that's where I come in." Sharpener simply said with a grin. "I'll be your teacher in the field of lying. I'm by no means a master of it, but I think I can teach you the basics. And about your mom; she'll have to learn you're a teenager now, we hardly ever tell our parents the truth. But that's the best thing about lying; learn to do it right and no-one will notice that you're lying."

It suddenly dawned on Gohan what Sharpener was offering; he would teach Gohan to lie and keep his secret, something which could easily destroy his relationship with Videl. Sharpener was risking his friendship with the black-haired girl to help him.

"If you would do that, it'd be great." He finally said, sitting down. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and, with a few presses of the buttons, put it down again. Sharpener raised an eyebrow in silent questioning.

"I put up an alarm to give Erasa a call in half an hour to tell her that I've found you at the end of the path. That should give us well over an hour before we have to be back at the house. That should give us plenty of time."

"Time for what? You think you can learn to lie in an hour?"

"No, I think I'll need a lot more time for that. But the hour and a half we have will give me plenty of time to tell you everything about me."

"Why tell me everything about you?" Sharpener asked in surprise, also sitting down.

"Because that way, we're both risking something big, we'll be more equal. And besides that, if I'm going to take you into confidence and depend on you to bail me out at times, you'd better know what's what."

Sharpener looked at Gohan for a second before speaking up again.

"Alright, let it rip then."

"Well, the story of my life actually starts some twenty years before I was born…" Gohan started, already thinking of how he could best tell everything to his long-haired friend.

XxX

"Finally, there they are!" Erasa said, immediately dashing to the door. Videl and Goten where hot on her heels, while Chichi simply walked after them, turning the fire that she was using to cook lunch low to prevent anything burning.

Erasa immediately jumped the two, involving them in a big hug. Goten jumped up on them as well, aloud with laughter. Videl, seeing that the two where fine, restrained herself from such a display, though the strained look that had been on her face all morning immediately vanished.

"Really, we're alright." Sharpener said, his arm was draped around Gohan's shoulders and he was favoring his left leg.

"Well boys, let's hear what happened over lunch, you two must be starving." Chichi said, having never been worried. The Son matron knew that, once Gohan had started searching, there had been absolutely no reason to worry. At once Videl, Erasa and Goten dashed into the house to help set the table in the garden now that the weather had cleared up significantly. Meanwhile Gohan brought Sharpener – who Chichi noticed could walk remarkably well once the girls where gone – to the table before going inside to help bring the food out.

"So, what happened?" Videl asked as soon as everyone was seated. Her eyes kept switching between Gohan and Sharpener. "You weren't very specific when you called us Gohan. All you said was that you found him at the end of the path he was running and would bring him back, but it'd take some time."

"Yeah well, it did. Gohan had to drag me almost all the way back." Sharpener started. "See, when I was doing my morning run; I wasn't really awake yet and too absorbed with the music I was playing to really pay any attention." To emphasize his point, Sharpener pulled out his portable music player before continuing. "So I tripped over a tree root that was sticking out and I fell pretty badly. My foot was still stuck in the root while the rest of my body did fall. It really hurt so I thought it'd be best if I took some time and sat down before it really started to hurt. And then the rain also started, so I was lucky the clearing I was in was protected by a lot of thick leaves. It kept me mostly dry until Gohan finally found me. He put a quick make-shift bandage on my ankle once I told him what was going on – I never knew leaves and vines could be used like that – and we started walking back here."

At this point Sharpener took a small break to devour the plate that Chichi had placed in front of him. The blond hadn't even noticed how hungry he was until he smelt the delicious food.

"So, what'll happen with your ankle now?" Erasa asked.

"Well, Gohan said I should take it easy for the next two days but after that I'll be able to do my roadwork again. And, to prevent this from occurring again and get back into shape himself, Gohan's going to be joining me in my roadwork."

"For real?" Videl asked, now looking at Gohan. "Guess that means you'll have to keep waking up early eh Gohan?"

"Yeah well, I'm used to it by now." The half-saiyan said with a smile. As Sharpener had ordered him, he didn't say anything else, because that would ruin the carefully thought out excuse.

"So, you two interested in joining us?" Sharpener asked, looking at Videl and Erasa. "With this kind of incredible food around, you'll need to keep moving to stay in shape. Because it tastes way too good not to take multiple servings!" With that Sharpener quickly filled his plate again, for the third time already.

"Thanks for the offer Sharpy, but no thanks." Erasa said, taking a sip of her milk. "I might do some running of my own, but I can't keep up with you and I don't want to wake up that early."

"Same here, I prefer to a bit of a lie in now that we have some free time." Videl said. "I'll go and keep up my training, but I'll do it on my own."

"Owyeh, fuit voerfelve" Sharpener returned with his mouth full, having taken a much too big bite.

As soon as the two girls started chatting with each other, taking their attention of the teenage males, Sharpener sent Gohan a look that clearly said 'see, I told you.'

XxX

With the sun shining bright outside, Goten out playing in the forest on his own and the dinner already done, Chichi decided it was time she got outside and saw what exactly the teenagers where doing. They'd been out in the garden at the back of the house since lunch and Chichi had heard them talk or yell sometimes, but she hadn't actually seen them.

When she came outside, however, she wasn't really ready for what she saw. Erasa and Gohan were sitting down in the sand, chatting a bit and looking at their friends, while Sharpener and Videl where both shadowing.

Sharpener obviously wasn't a martial artist but used another style of fighting, because he never used his legs for anything other then moving around and pushing off to add power to his punches. It took the matron several seconds before she remembered about boxing, a fighting style that only used the arms to attack and defend, leafing the lower body free for dashing or pushing.

Videl, on the other hand, was a born and bred martial artist. She never stayed in place for longer then needed to perform one attack, then dashed, rolled and rotated around to perform the next, turning all her movements into a flowing stream. And she was frequently using her legs to attack or raise them in defense.

Instead of saying anything to break the concentration of the two fighters – knowing from experience how incredibly annoying it is to have someone interrupt you when you're focused on training – she walked over to her eldest son and his blond lady friend and stood some distance away, until Gohan waved her over. After all, she didn't want to eavesdrop on their conversation. Who knew what teenagers where talking about anyway?

"Hey mom," Gohan said as Chichi sat down. "Done with dinner already?"

"Yeah, of course. It's not like it's that much more difficult to cook for three extra teenagers when I'm used to how you and your brother eat." Chichi joked. "Videl's quite good isn't she?"

"Yeah, Videl is considered to be one of the top martial artists in the world, perhaps even the strongest female martial artist in the world!" Erasa said, turning towards Chichi with her usual smile.

"Really?" the older woman said, "That's very impressive, especially at her age. But I think she can still improve a lot."

"Why's that?"

"Well, her movements are all very sharp, fast and precise, but she doesn't really put a lot of force behind them and she's not really vicious with any of her attacks." Chichi explained, not noticing that Videl had just taken a small break and overheard the conversation. Erasa did notice and waved as Videl was walking over. Realizing things might get hot, Gohan quickly stood up and moved over to Sharpener to watch him shadow.

"Hey Chichi." Videl said, sitting down on the other side of the mother. "I heard what you just said, sorry about eavesdropping. But, I don't have a lot of power as you can tell from my build, that's why I can't place a lot into my attacks." She gave the explanation like she'd given it a million times before to others. Chichi didn't really buy it. "If I focus too much on power, I'll lose my speed and that's my main advantage. Speed can also compensate for power."

"Yes that's true, but I mean that you already have a lot more power that you can use right now, but you're holding it back." Chichi said. This surprised Videl, who couldn't hide her confused look.

"Well, you see you're far to gentle with your attacks." Chichi explained. "You can use a lot more of your power if you stop being so nice in a fight. You're careful so you won't really hurt whoever it is you're fighting, that gives you a mental block and automatically stops you from using your full power. If you get rid of that and fight without constraints, you'll become that much more powerful. Already you're very strong and fast, but if you stop holding back, your movements will be that much stronger but, most importantly, you'll be able to aim for critical areas. None of the moves you just practiced aimed at even a single critical area, a clear sign of not wanting to hurt someone."

"Wow…" Videl said in wonder, staring at the woman who was twice her age. "How'd you see all that so quickly? And better yet, how do you know all that?"

"Well my girl," Chichi said with a chuckle. "I'm not a former quarter finalist of the World Tournament of Marital Arts for nothing. I've had to learn my fair share of things back in the day."

"What!" both girl shouted suddenly, pulling Sharpener and Gohan out of their whispered conversation. "You're a former World Tournament competitor!?"

"Yeah, you two didn't know?" Chichi asked in surprise. "We've got a couple of pictures of both my husband and me fighting in the tournament. We even have the certificates stating how far we made it listed and they're hanging on the wall. You didn't see them?"

"Ehm, well, Eh…" Videl stammered, not really giving an answer.

"Well, I did see some lists that where framed and I saw a couple of pictures but I didn't really want to pry…" Erasa admitted with an embarrassed smile. Videl nodded, agreeing with Erasa's explanation.

"Oh, you two are too much. It's not rude to look at pictures that we've placed in plain sight you know. But let me show you a picture of me and my husband. Maybe you'll recognize him." With a flourish, Chichi pulled her wallet out of the pocket of her apron and, after searching for a second, pulled out a picture. "This is us at our wedding day." She held out the picture for the girls to see. The other pictures, she kept with her at all times – both being taken just after one of her sons was born – was kept well hidden due to the rather revealing nature they had. Both boys still had their tails in the picture and – as if that wasn't enough to get them to start asking questions – in the picture taken when Goten was only just born, Gohan was posing as a Super Saiyan.

"Is that your husband?" Erasa asked. "He looks kinda cute. I can see where Gohan got his good looks from. And he's pretty buff as well."

"Of course he is." Videl said, realization dawning on her. "That's Goku Son, former World Champion of Martial Arts before my father and the youngest fighter to ever make it to the finals at only twelve years old."

It took a few seconds for this information to digest, before Videl and Erasa shouted out at the same time.

"Gohan's father is the former World Champ!" Videl yelled, while Erasa instead shouted, "You're married to a World Champion! That is so cool!"

XxX

"It's about time this place was delivered." Sharpener said as he carried a box of Gohan's belongings in. "Why on earth did they have a delay of half a week anyway?"

"Because Bulma somehow discovered who the order was from and just had to customize it without actually making us pay for it." Gohan explained, also carrying in several boxes. "I didn't know she was doing that until the capsule got delivered. That's the main reason we have all this." Gohan waved his hand around, indicating the extremely luxurious furniture inside the capsule house, while normally the house would be empty upon delivery. "And not just that, she gave me a direct access connection to her private communications. I guess she wants me to give some more ideas for the projects we're working on."

"Yeah well, I'm surprised you got as much off time as you did, seeing how you're the HEAD of an entire department." Sharpener said. "I thought that'd mean a lot of paperwork and the like. How can you just take it easy and go to school and stuff?"

"Because Bulma insisted I follow my mother's orders and go to school. She took over my work while I was at school, since she held the position for a while until her father made her the new president."

"Sounds like a sweet deal. Don't do any work and still get a royal paycheck." Sharpener said with a hint of amusement. Taking a quick look out the window to make sure that Videl and Erasa where not able to look into the capsule house, he quickly made a request. "Hey Gohan, think you can move the sofa so it's facing this wall instead? We can slouch on it when we watch TV that way. Not to mention that the girls won't see us if they look in through the door or window."

"Sure thing," Gohan said, quickly lifting up the sofa with one hand and moving it around like it didn't weigh a thing. It left Sharpener staring for a second. "What?" the half-saiyan finally asked when he saw the other boy's look.

"Nothing man, it's nothing. It'll just take some getting used to that you're so insanely strong. You lift that sofa like it's nothing, while it looks pretty heavy. I'll still have to get used to these shows of extreme power."

"Hehe… yeah. Sorry about that, didn't mean to show off." Gohan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So let's carry the rest of the stuff in and we'll get to settling in, how's that?"

"Sounds good, but I just realized something else." Sharpener said, stretching out his back.

"Yeah, what's that?"

"We'll be alone in here most of the time. You know what that means?" Gohan shook his head in the negative. "It means we can finally start really working on 'Lying One-on-One' instead of just those minor talks we have during the morning runs. I mean, those are really interesting and I've learned a lot about you in this last week, but if we want to get started on lying, now's the time." Ever since Sharpener and Gohan had been doing morning runs together, they had talked a lot about Gohan's past. It took much more then a single explanation for Sharpener to fully digest the information.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gohan said, closing the door again. "But we'll have to make sure it doesn't mess up my time with work. Now that I don't have school anymore, I think I'll try to work some more time in the office again. You know, show my face, catch up with my colleagues; get up-to-date on the newest projects, that sort of thing."

"For real? Aren't you going to be just a _little_ too busy with all that man?" Sharpener asked as the two left the capsule house to pick up the remains of their stuff. "I mean, you'll have to combine running in the mornings with me, finishing the school assignments, traveling to and from your work and, of course, spend some time with Videl, Erasa and me."

"It's not a problem. I'm at my work in two minutes if I take it easy, ten seconds if I go at higher speeds." Gohan explained. "Flying at super-sonic speeds does have its advantages you know."

The two had now entered the house to find that, as Gohan had already sensed some time ago, none of the others where in the house. Instead, there was a note pinned up against the fridge, written by his mother.

**Boys, the girls, Goten and I are out shopping in the next village over. We'll be back by about three in the afternoon, have fun decorating your new home while we're away.**

**Love Chichi**

"Well, that makes things considerably easier for us." Gohan said once Sharpener had pointed at the piece of paper. Gohan knew they had been gone since some time after lunch, but wasn't sure if they where in the area of not so he didn't dare use his powers. Now, however, he was sure they weren't around. At once, he sped up and picked up the remaining boxes. Within a second, they had all been placed inside the capsule house, much to Sharpener's surprise.

The blond walked over to the house, seeing Gohan open all the boxes.

"What're you doing?" Sharpener asked.

"Well, since Videl and Erasa aren't around I can just get the decorating done in about half a second. Which bedroom do you want?"

"I don't know; the left one?" the blond said, filling with a sense of dread and excitement at the same time. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, don't worry." Gohan said, crouching down slightly. All Sharpener saw and felt was a sudden gust of wind, just before Gohan disappeared. Before Sharpener had even had a chance to realize that Gohan had disappeared, he was back standing right in front of the blond.

"Done." he proclaimed. An instant later, Sharpener noticed that the boxes where all empty and that some of the pictures Gohan had in his room where standing around the living room now, mixed up with the pictures that Sharpener had brought along.

"Wow… how'd you do that?" Sharpener asked, looking around in awe. "That was like ultra-fast."

"Well, I moved at a speed that the human eye can't keep track of. That's why you couldn't see me move or pull out all the stuff from the boxes." Gohan explained. "It's a long way from moving at the speed of light, but it's fast enough."

"And that doesn't cause something like a sonic boom or something?" Sharpener asked, still looking around.

"Normally it would, but I use the energy around my body to let the wind and sound flow past me and reform in the space I leave behind. It prevents a sonic boom from happening and protects me from minor problems."

"You know what; you're pretty amazing with all those powers." Sharpener finally admitted, sitting down on the sofa, looking somewhat down. "No, even without them you're pretty impressive."

"What'd you mean Sharpener?" Gohan asked, feeling the sudden change in the mood.

"You're really strong and all that, but even when you lose your strength you can make sure everyone stays safe. I can't do that; I can't even help them when I am in top condition. I know I didn't stand a chance against those androids, but when Johnson had us hostage, I tried to defend Erasa. He made sure I knew it was pointless to try. He blocked my attack so easily, it wasn't even funny." The blond admitted, his eyes never meeting Gohan's. "But you've always made sure we all got out safe. I'm jealous of you, I think. You can do what I've been thinking of doing ever since I was a kid; protecting my friends."

Gohan didn't really know what to say to that, another strange confession from the blond muscle bomb, so he instead let silence reign between them. Finally, after almost a minute of total silence, Gohan spoke up.

"You know, Sharpener. If you want to be stronger, maybe I can help you. I think I can train you a bit, give you some pointers to make you stronger."

"For real?" the boxer asked, before thinking about it. Then he let out a loud sigh. "Thanks for the offer man, but I can't. If you train me to use energy and the like, I'll be endangering you again. People can link my sudden usage of energy back to you." He was silent for a few seconds, while Gohan thought of another argument, but suddenly Sharpener continued. "But, actually, there's another reason if I'm totally honest. I've always been training to be a boxer, I've been growing as a boxer and I wanted to be strong as a boxer. I love boxing and I want to become stronger with boxing. If I allow you to teach me how to use energy, it'll stop being boxing. My strength, even if I wasn't using energy blasts in the matches, would be so big there won't even be a fight anymore."

This suddenly made Gohan perk up, because he had just found an answer.

"Then how about this?" Gohan asked, standing up with a bright smile. "I'll train you in boxing, help you remove some of the flaws you have there. You won't learn anything about energy, just boxing, plain and simple. It'll be my way of repaying you to teach me to lie."

"But you don't know the first thing about boxing!" Sharpener exclaimed.

"Give me twenty-four hours and I'll know all there is to know about boxing and I'll tell you exactly where your faults lie. And then we can start working on them."

Gohan's words, for once, made it clear that the conversation was over. Gohan was going to teach Sharpener, just as Sharpener was going to teach Gohan.

"Hey, Nerd-boy." Sharpener said, falling back on his nickname for Gohan. "Thanks."

XxX

'_Why on earth am I sitting here?_' Trunks asked himself as he sat in the bright pink room. He had been forced to wear an apron as well. An apron, for god's sake! He was a boy, boys don't wear aprons. Girls where aprons, because girls are the ones who always work in the kitchen. Except for his own mother, but that was because grandma was always working in the kitchen and she was a far better chef then his mother ever was.

"Ya'know Trunks, I'm really enjoying our playtime together!" Bra said as she walked in, holding a tray with pink and purple cups and a matching teapot. "It's been really long since we last played together!"

'_Oh yeah, that's why…_' Trunks said as his sister sat down opposite him, making the 'people' joining the tea party a round dozen. Only two of them where even remotely human – and even then, they where only half human – while the other ten where inanimate animals. All of Bra's plush animals, consisting of two bears, a trio of monkeys, a pig, a sheep, a giraffe and two elephants had joined the party.

'_Why on earth was I even worried about her?_' he scolded himself, seeing his sister being perfectly normal. '_She's perfectly fine, of course she is. She actually saw Gohan's fight up close. What I wouldn't give to have been there!_'

"Well, Mr. Phant," Bra began, pouring tea for her animals and brother. There wasn't actually anything coming from the pot, so Trunks couldn't even enjoy a drink while in this horrible room. No boy was ever meant to be in a pink room! "Did I tell you about what happened in Satan City yet?" she continued, oblivious to her brother's internal monologue.

"I haven't yet? Oh it's such a d-d- what's the word again?" She paused for a second before deciding that it was better to just use a different word. "Such an impressive sight," While half-listening, Trunks noticed that his sister was talking a lot more mature then she really was, like she was pretending to be a grown girl – a lady.

"Oh, no Misses Brown," she now said, addressing the teddy bear. Trunks began to worry about his sister's sanity after all; she was hearing voices from inanimate animals! "It was really not something that I'd be wanting to expertise again. It was really quite scary."

"The word is 'experience,' not 'expertise.'" Trunks automatically corrected his sister. She looked at him, smiled at him and continued her conversation with the bear.

"But Saiyaman is really quite impressive." She said. "He was really tall and strong and muscly. Almost as muscly as Daddy. And he was really pretty for a boy, and tall, just like Uncle Gohan."

'_Yeah, of course. Gohan is Saiyaman!_' Trunks thought to himself. But he couldn't tell his sister that, because his mother had forbidden him to say anything.

"**Now Trunks, listen here.**" His mother had said to him. "**Your sister really looks up to both Gohan and Saiyaman and unlike you she can't really keep a secret yet, so don't tell her you know who Saiyaman is, or else you'll be in trouble young man. Understand?**"

"How would you know what Saiyaman looked like?" the young Saiyan prince asked instead, deciding that teasing his sister would be the most fun thing, now that he was sure she was ok. "You didn't even see him!"

"I did!" she protested, looking offended.

"No you didn't." Trunks repeated, sticking out his tongue for good measure. "All you did was hide and shiver to Marron's mom and dad. You never actually saw anything!"

"I did too!" Bra repeated, now looking on the verge of tears.

"Oh yeah?" Trunks taunted even further. "I know you didn't see A-N-Y-thing. You where hiding all along, just like a little girl and a coward."

"I AM NOT A COWARD!" she cried out before bursting into tears. Tears that, while Bra was wailing loud enough to shout around the house, were mysteriously absent. She wasn't really crying at all!

But before Trunks had actually reached that conclusion, the door to Bra's room opened from the outside and the lavender-haired air knew he was in trouble. Vegeta stood in the doorframe, seeing his daughter screaming her heart out and hiding her face from him, while his son stood with a look like he was a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"What happened here?" The Prince of all Saiyans demanded, stepping into the room. Bra didn't say anything; still busy crying out loud, but only pointed her finger at Trunks. Before he could do anything, Trunks was picked up by his trousers and tossed over his father's shoulder.

"Well, well Trunks." The spiky-haired man said. "If you have that much energy left over, I think it's time you continue your training with me. Perhaps an extra special training for you to learn to stabilize your Super Saiyan abilities in a fight will be in need."

Trunks knew exactly what that meant: he was in for one of the roughest training periods of his life now that he had teased and taunted his sister. But from his position on his father's shoulder, he could take a last look at his sister's face before he was pulled from the room.

She was grinning widely, sticking her tongue out at her brother as he was dragged off.

* * *

A/N: another chapter finished, hope you liked it.

As always, thanks to my beta's Kushin eX for checking out this chapter and fixing it for me. and also much thanks to Stalker of Stories for pointing out a few mistakes still in this chapter in a review.

Please review and tell me what you think.


	36. Chapter 36

TI 36:

Disclaimer: don't own anything from the DB/DBZ/DBGT universe, it all belongs to someone else.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

"Is everything to your liking so far, Doctor?"

It was a polite question, but even so the Doctor didn't answer it yet as he and Styring Behersk were patrolling the new lab. Courtesy of Styring's resources, the Doctor's secret laboratory had been moved, in its totality, to a new location. Restocked with supplies and new machinery, and there where now several technicians and scientists walking around to make the final checks. The technicians would leave and never speak of this place again – they knew what would happen to them if they didn't keep their silence and were also paid handsomely – while the scientists would remain to serve as the Doctor's assistants.

Scanning the entire area once again, as he had been doing every two minutes for the entire day; and finally spoke up.

"You are certain these… _aides_… can be of help?" he enquired, stopping himself from insulting his newfound partner.

"Yes, they are all highly competent scientists, specializing in the fields that you specified. They are also loyal and curious enough to stay true to our cause. The process of creating more androids will be sped up significantly with them at your side. Is there a problem with their presence?"

"I would prefer to work without beings that I can not trust." The Doctor simply said. "But I will make do."

"Very good Doctor," Styring said with a smile. "When can you start work on the prototype for the Series Three?"

"I will not make a prototype."

"Why not? Mustn't you first create a testing unit before moving on to mass production?"

"What did you say?" suddenly The Doctor turned towards Styring with fury, a fire burning in his one visible eye. "I will not mass produce my androids; they are not some basic computer to be created by the millions. Each android is unique, with individual programming and powers. The first android to be created, Android #1, will be the most basic and from there I will allow alterations and experiments with other androids. That is why all the androids will retain trademark features."

"Very well." Styring waited for a few seconds before he spoke up again. "Doctor, you are an odd person, if I may say so."

"Why would that be?"

"You claim distrust for humans, have shown hints of dislike and even hatred for our species, yet you wish to make your machines as individual as possible. Individuality has always been a trademark of the human race. No other species on the planet show such difference between their own as we humans do."

"Perhaps."

Considering their conversation over, The Doctor continued walking around his lab, familiarizing himself with its new appearance and equipment.

"So Doctor," Styring questioned again, "when will #1 be ready?"

"Should your assistants prove as capable as you claim, it should not take more then a few weeks, maybe two months to create the first of a new generation of androids. Afterwards, we will continue to work on the others, making improvements and adjustments all the while."

"Very well. I place this project in your capable hands then. But before I leave, I would like to ask a favor of you. Two actually."

"What is it?" there was obvious irritation in The Doctor's voice now, he was eager to be rid of Styring.

"When you have completed #1, I would like him to complete a small task. A test, if you will." Styring pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to The Doctor. The android-creator looked at the piece of paper for a few seconds before pocketing it.

"Why would you ask for my assistance in this matter?" he enquired. "Surely, you have your own means of getting this man his freedom?"

"Indeed I do." Styring confirmed, smiling as he spoke. "But I'm a businessman, my good Doctor, and I always wish to see what a product can do before I truly invest my resources in it. Your series two were already impressive enough, I wish for the series three to be even more superior."

"Even so, what use is he?"

"He holds valuable information that will prove useful to me and he is a capable leader and fighter. Having him on our side would make my goals go considerably smoother."

"A fighter? He has lost entire body parts; he's no good for anything anymore."

"But surely, Doctor, that wouldn't be a problem with your technology at our side. That is the second favor I will ask of you tonight. Once your androids have completed that mission and safely brought him back, use your technology to help him survive and transform him. Make him stronger then ever before. Make him a cyborg, just like you are."

XxX

"So, what's Gohan been up to? He's been inside all day, looking at videos and reading stuff online." Erasa asked during lunch. Oddly enough, the black-haired teenager hadn't shown up despite the delicious scent.

"He's been studying boxing and how it works." Sharpener suplied. "He's going to try and help me with my training here."

"Why's he going to do that?" Videl inquired, placing her empty plate back on the table.

"We were talking about my boxing and Gohan said he'd seen some things I could use some help on. When I asked what specifically, he said that he had a couple of ideas but wasn't sure until he knew all the rules and stuff about boxing. I'm guessing that he's studying them now, so he can tell me all about his idea's later."

"Well, that does sound like Gohan." Chichi agreed.

"Yeah, and you'll definitely need some help." Videl added, pointing at Sharpener with her fork. "Because you definitely could use some brains to aid your rock-filled head."

"What did you say?" The blond boxer countered, but they where stopped from further bickering when Gohan suddenly exited from the capsule house and dashed over to them.

"Hey guys!" He said as he sat down. "Sorry for being so late. But I think I've got it all figured out now."

"You have?" Sharpener's surprised voice sounded. "For real? You think you've figured out a way to make me a better boxer?"

"Yeah, I have." The black-haired genius confirmed. "I first read up on the rules for boxing so I knew what you were and weren't allowed to do and after that I spend a lot of time looking at boxing matches. Your matches, as well as others. I've been comparing you to deputing boxers, national champions, no-names, world- or national rankers and even world champions. After I've looked at all those boxing matches there was one thing that really stood out."

"That being?"

"And really, once I noticed it, it was really obvious too… can't believe I didn't realize it before…"

"Hello, Nerd-boy, what is it!?" Sharpener nearly yelled. "What've I gotta do to improve my boxing?"

Before answering, Gohan quickly devoured a plate that his mother had filled out for him, barely even taken ten seconds to finish the delicious food.

"Right, sorry." He said while looking sheepishly, "Well, it's something I thought of while I watched you last match. And I noticed it in all your other matches too: You use way too many different techniques."

"Wait a second; I thought that more techniques were better?" Goten asked, sitting right in between Gohan and Sharpener.

"Sometimes it is, but if you have too many different moves you use, your body can't adapt to it and your overall power stays low." Gohan quickly explained. "Just like with everything else, your body slowly adapts to the techniques you use in a fight. The more you train one particular technique, the more your body adapts to it and the technique becomes stronger. That's why everyone always keep training a particular set of movements. If you orient yourself too broadly, your body stays weaker and your chances of injuries are far higher."

"I think the best example would be in athletics." Videl suddenly said, having understood what Gohan meant. "It's one of the broadest sports there is, but it's roughly split into two groups: specialists and multiple-event athletes. A specialist is almost always superior to a multiple-event athlete, because his training is much more specific. A multiple-event athlete has a much broader orientation, because they're able to perform between 3 and 15 different disciplines adequately, but a specialist performs one discipline excellently. Isn't that what you're trying to say?"

For a few seconds, Gohan was looking at Videl intently, but then a smile broke out on his face.

"Wow… I never thought of that… but you're right, it's a perfect comparison. Well, anyway, that's what I discovered."

"Ok, so what're we gonna do about it?" Sharpener asked, his own mind already racing.

"Well, here's what I was thinking, but it'll be extreme." Gohan started. "We're going to have to rebuild your fight style from scratch, start at the basics again and build it up from there. Once we've got you back to basic, we can start working on one special technique that you can use. But for the next while, no further special techniques until you've progressed enough. What'd you think?"

"Rebuild my entire style?" there was shock clearly written on Sharpener's face. "I don't think we can do that so easily. It took me well over seven years to get here… what'll happen if I have to get used to a whole new fighting style?"

"Don't worry, we won't completely change your style, just get you more used to using basic techniques and less focused on using special techniques. And since you're already on a high level with this style, I think you'll adapt to a new style pretty quick. But we're still stuck on one thing."

"That being?"

"What kind of boxing do you want to use? Outboxing or Infighting. You used both, although you often favor Outboxing. And what sort of technique do you want to use once we're starting to work on that? Those are decisions I can't make for you, you have to come up with that for yourself."

Sharpener didn't respond to that, instead sinking into deep thoughts.

"You don't have to tell me right now, take your time to think it through." Gohan counseled. "I'll go and read up on theories of training, as well as physiology and boxing techniques while I wait for you to make your decision. How about you take three days to think things through and then come and give me your answer?"

Sharpener nodded his head, agreeing with the generous deadline that Gohan had given him, and watched as the black-haired demi-saiyan quickly turned back to his lunch.

XxX

"Hey, what're you two slowpokes waiting for?" Erasa yelled as she, Videl and Goten where already lying in the water of 'Big Mountain Lake' and splashed around.

Gohan and Sharpener where still standing on the beach, both still wearing their t-shirts. The entire day Sharpener had been rather quiet, which wasn't so surprising considering the fact that he was now forced to think about a completely new fighting style, and Gohan had remained rather shy about going swimming at all. But with the combined force of his mother's suggestion, Videl's 'do-what-I-say-or-suffer-for-it-look' Erasa pout and Goten Puppy-Dog-Eyes the two large males had to give in.

Immediately afterwards, Erasa had managed to trick Videl into wearing a bikini, when the Satan Girl would normally where a full bathing suit. Goten, being an adorable seven-year-old, had already been waiting for them at the door in his swimming pants, a towel draped across his shoulder. Before they could say anything about how cute Goten looked in a speedo, he was already yanking their arms off and dragging them to the lake. Gohan and Sharpener caught up with them a few minutes later, amused at the sight.

With a cry of "Alright, let's go!" Sharpener pulled off his t-shirt, discarded his slippers and ran to the water. Gohan was far more reluctant to get in the water. Finally, he also slipped out of his slippers and pulled off his t-shirt.

Both Erasa and Videl where dumbstruck as they saw Gohan's bare chest. They had expected him to be lean, with maybe a bit of love handles thanks to his mothers excellent food. Instead, Gohan revealed that he had tight abs, extremely well-defined arms and a broad chest that would make most girls drool right away. Much like Sharpener his muscles weren't big or bulky, but simply very well defined. It looked far better then the extreme muscle head that often visited gyms and came out with arms bigger then Erasa's waist.

As expected Gohan's left shoulder was still bandaged to keep it in place. Upon arriving at the Son residence, Chichi had pulled the three teenagers aside and gently warned them that Gohan's arm had been dislocated in the chaos of the evacuation. He'd been able to place it back himself, but he kept it bandaged for a while to allow the joint to recover.

Both Erasa and Videl where brought back to reality when Gohan suddenly pulled down his shorts as well. For a second, the girls thought that Gohan was going to go skinny-dip until they saw why he had pulled of his pants. Unlike Sharpener, who whore normal swimming trunks, Gohan was wearing a Speedo, identical to his brother's.

At once all three teenagers had to submerge themselves to prevent laughing at Gohan in his face. Even while underwater, Sharpener was doubled over and attempting to laugh loudly, causing large bubbles of air to come out of his mouth.

A splash indicated that Gohan had entered the water and was walking over to them. In a few seconds, he would be submerged from the waist down, hiding the ridiculous swimming gear from view.

Sharpener was the first to emerge again, since his laughing fit had robbed him of all his air.

"Hey Gohan, nice pants!" He said, immediately bursting out laughing again.

Even the normally clueless Gohan realized that something was wrong when Sharpener burst out laughing like that after making a comment about his swim pants.

"Well, my mom bought them for me." He said defensively. "She said it looked really nice, especially since Goten has the same one."

Deciding to come to Gohan's rescue, no matter how cute it looked to have him embarrassed like that, Erasa suddenly splashed a large wave of water over at Sharpener. Videl followed her example a split second later.

"Hey!" Sharpener complained, being forced to spit out water as he spoke. "I'll get you for tha- waah!" Goten had joined in with the girl's offensive and pulled Sharpener down into the water, giggling all the while.

"That's it!" Sharpener now yelled with a large grin on his face. "Come on Gohan, let's show those girls what real men are made of!"

"S-sure." Gohan said, starting to splash some water around as well.

"Real men? Be sure to tell us when you find some." Videl laughed as she was hit by a large wave, courtesy of Gohan.

The water-war continued for at least half an hour more, with Goten constantly switching sides and pulling people under, or splashing them wildly. Once, Videl even managed to trap Gohan by swimming behind him and pulling him under, laughing all the while. Of course, she had been forced to stop laughing when Gohan pulled her legs out from under her, pulling her into the water as well.

Finally, when they'd calmed down a bit, the four teenagers where simply floating around. Goten was somewhere else in the lake, swimming around underwater and exploring the area.

Suddenly there was a splash some distance away from the gang of floating teenagers. Surprised, they all looked over at the disturbance. It was caused by an extremely large fish, much bigger then even Sharpener was tall.

"Whaag!" Erasa screamed in shock at seeing another of the monstrous fish suddenly jump out of the water.

"Don't worry guys." Gohan said, floating around without a care. "Those fish are natural inhabitants of the lake. They're big and look pretty scary, but they're a really kind and docile species of fish. Here I'll show you."

Intend on showing his friends, Gohan swam over to the schooling fish and dived. A few seconds later Gohan emerged again, now standing on top of two of the large fish, one foot on each as they swam forward with a speed no normal human could match.

"See guys, I told you!" the demi-saiyan yelled, waving over to his friends. "This is really cool, you should all try it!" as soon as he had finished speaking, the two fish suddenly broke apart, each swimming to a different direction. Gohan, still standing on top of them and having a grip with his feet, was forced into a painful and unexpected split.

A look of pain and discomfort shot over the black-haired youth's face just before he fell back into the water. Once again, all three city-born teenagers burst out laughing, having seen the look on Gohan's face.

All of a sudden, while the teens where still laughing loudly, there was a large disturbance of the water. Hundreds of gallons of water suddenly shot up, forming a rough, gigantic outline of a monstrous beast. For a second the teens where silent, before they where submerged by the wave that followed the creature's arrival. When they recovered themselves, they looked over at the creature again.

With the water gone, they now had a clear view of Icarus, still munching on some weeds that the dragon had fished up from the bottom of the lake. Gohan was sitting atop his nose, looking surprised to have been saved by his old friend.

Icarus himself was also looking very surprised at finding Gohan suddenly sitting on his nose. With what would pass as a dragonic laugh Icarus bent down and allowed Gohan to slip off his nose and land into the water with a splash.

"Thanks Icarus!" Gohan said, before suddenly turning around to face his friends. "Hey guys, do you know what it feels like to fly?"

Hearing and understanding what Gohan just said, Icarus quickly turned around, splashing water all over in his excitement. His head was mere meters away from Sharpener, Videl and Erasa, when he suddenly turned around and placed his front leg in such a way that they could easily climb aboard him.

"Come on guys, this is unlike anything you've ever experienced before."

But all three teenagers still remembered the extremely pained look that Gohan had worn mere seconds after assuring them that standing on the fishes was perfectly safe and nothing could go wrong.

"Ehm, thanks but I think I'll pass, Gohan." Erasa carefully said, hoping not to offend anyone. Next to her, Sharpener and Videl nodded their agreement with Erasa.

"Giyaah!?" Icarus quickly raised his head, disappointment clear on his face. In fact, the purple dragon was showing a perfect display of a dragon's pout. Unfortunately, the sudden movement launched Gohan, who had climbed back on Icarus' head, through the air, making him land some distance away into the lake with a loud splash.

XxX

"Ok, almost done." Bulma mumbled to herself as she stretched herself out. "Only have to replace the outer shell and Gohan's holographic device is complete."

In front of the blue-haired genius lay Gohan's Switching Watch, which Bulma had been remodeling to allow it to hide Gohan's scar, while also allowing him to switch into regular clothes and his Saiyaman outfit.

As she walked out of her lab to get something to drink and smoke a cigarette, Bulma noticed that it was oddly quiet in the building. As she walked past the living room, she realized why that was.

Trunks was lying on the couch, deep asleep. For the past few days, Vegeta had been training his son more intensely then ever. The lavender-haired boy hardly had enough energy left to eat dinner these days. Up until yesterday, Bra had looked at her brother apologetically every dinner, so Bulma knew that the little girl had something to do with it, but hadn't asked her. She knew perfectly well that the little girl had her father wrapped around her little fingers and wasn't afraid to use that power. Of course, Bulma had done the same when she was a little girl.

And besides that, Vegeta would never really hurt his son, no matter how rough he would become during training.

Speaking of the Prince of all Saiyans and his little princess, Bulma heard that her husband was still busy in the gravity chamber, continuing his training sessions as always. Bra was once again staying over with Krillin, #18, Marron and Roshi. Every weekend one girl would stay over at the other's house. Bulma was happy that Bra had already found such a good friend, especially since she knew the entire family was very trustworthy. Even Roshi, despite being a dirty old man, would never let anything harm her. Partly because he 'wanted to ensure another beautiful woman would roam the world in later years' and because both Vegeta and Bulma had made it VERY clear what would happen if something happened.

But on days like these, with Trunks completely exhausted, the large mansion was just too quiet for Bulma's liking.

"I hope Gohan can return to work sometime soon. Without school, he should be able to get back here every once in a while. I really want to start discussing idea's with him again, I'm missing it. we always discussed all our idea's, perfecting them before we even got started on paper… and if he comes over here, he'll divert some of Vegeta's attentions away from Trunks. That way at least our boy will have some time to catch his breath…"

XxX

"Good morning." Gohan said as he exited his bedroom. It was early, even before sunrise. Both he and Sharpener woke up this early all days due to their early morning runs. So he wasn't surprised that Sharpener was already sitting at the table, fully awake. Unlike normal, however, Sharpener was still wearing the same clothes as he had been wearing the day before. In fact, the blond looked like he hadn't even slept at all.

"Hey." He answered, looking up, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. "Had a good sleep?"

"What's up? You look like you haven't slept at all…" Gohan asked, taking a sit opposite his friend. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." The boxer confirmed. "I've been thinking a lot, I just couldn't go to sleep."

"Oh yeah…" realization dawned upon Gohan. This was the third day, the deadline they had agreed upon.

"And I've figured out what kind of boxing I'm going to use from now on."

"Great!" Gohan exclaimed. "So, what'll it be then?"

"I'll stay as true to my style as I am now." Sharpener stated, looking Gohan directly in the eye. "I'll be an Outboxer with footwork that no-one can match. And I'll only use one special technique."

XXXxxxXXXxxx

As always much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Please leave a review telling me what you think.


	37. Chapter 37

TI 37

Disclaimer: Don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

After Sharpener's statement, Gohan was silent for a few seconds before he started smiling at his friend.

"Good to hear that. What technique will that be?"

"The Swallow," Sharpener said without a second hesitation. "I don't have a use for a surefire killing blow that anyone will analyze after two or three fights, discovering how to stop it. But the Swallow and the Bullet are high-level, useful jabs that can't be sealed, no matter how hard the opponent tries. And between the two, the Swallow is more all-round purpose while the Bullet is more offensively oriented. I'm going with the Swallow because it's easier to use in feints and it's harder to predict."

"All of those are excellent reasons." Gohan agreed. "And I'm certain that once we get to training on it, your Swallow will be something to fear. But we're still a long way from that."

As Gohan stood a little straighter, ready to assume his position as Sharpener's coach and teacher, the blond man rose from the chair he was sitting on and moved over to the kitchen. As soon as he had taken a large gulp of water – straight from the faucet – he turned around to look at his new coach.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well, like I said before, we're going to have to start rebuilding your style from scratch, so prepare for a lot of basic exercises and repeating them a lot. Your basic skills are there, but we need to strengthen and sharpen them to perfection. And that will take a lot of effort."

"You're making this sound rather heavy…"

"It is; you're changing your entire style of fighting. Don't think this'll be easy. Now, onto the training."

Gohan moved back into his working room for a minute and emerged with a couple of papers, each filled with columns.

"Here's the basic explanation; you'll be training twice a day with each training lasting two to three hours. Trainings will rotate between focus on boxing technique, sparring, power training or building your condition. Your first training will be in the morning, an hour after breakfast. Your second training will be in the afternoon, starting at three o'clock. You have every Wednesday and Sunday off to recover, work on your schoolwork or whatnot. Also there will be a couple of days that I'm not around. In those cases, I'll give you a schedule that you'll have to complete. Any questions?"

"No, all clear so far. Kind of sounds like training camp." The look on Sharpener's face was almost one of relief, but Gohan wasn't finished yet.

"Aside from that, every morning you'll continue to wake up at five in the morning and do your morning run, which will last until half past seven. I'll be running with you and we leave at five thirty at the latest. And I'll warn you now, every day after a break, we're increasing the difficulty from your morning run. We'll either change the area where you're running, increase the speed or other such variations. You'll need strong legs that can move limberly to become an outboxer."

"Ok, now it's starting to sound rough." Sharpener said as he winced.

"So I'd recommend that you turn in early every day, you'll need it. Training starts tomorrow morning at five." Gohan announced, looking at Sharpener.

"Ok sure." The blond said, breaking into a grin. "But just so you know; Lying lessons will be starting tonight and will be every other night if we can manage."

XxX

Later that same evening, a couple of hours after dinner, both teenagers were sitting at the kitchen table. The kitchen light ensured that they could see something, since it was still dark outside, as Sharpener took Gohan's pencil and paper, moving them out of his reach.

"This won't be a theory class." The blond simply said at Gohan's surprised look. "Keep record of any of this and someone can find out. If someone can find out, that means everything's for nothing. Understand?"

Gohan nodded, already in full study mode.

"Now, we'll start off easily since you have no lying ability whatsoever. We'll begin with obvious lies." Sharpener was sitting up straight, like he was a professor teaching a student. "Obvious lies, unlike subtle ones, don't require a lot of thinking. However, they're also easy to see through. These kinds of lies are often best used in jokes and stuff, but we'll start with acting as if they're serious. Any questions so far?"

Gohan nodded, indicating he had understood it all.

"Now, you won't be taking notes of this, you'll be practicing it. And, since we're keeping this a secret, you'll practice your lies on me. This is the first lesson, so I don't expect anything close to a good lie. I'll tell you what the lie is, you try to copy it."

"Alright," Now Gohan was shifting nervously in his seat, anticipating that he would have to lie for the first time in his life.

"Repeat after me," Sharpener ordered. "'I do not know Goten.'"

"But I do know him! He's my brother, how can I not know him?" Gohan immediately replied.

With a loud bang, Sharpener's head crashed on the table, a groan escaping him.

"Listen Nerd-boy," he started, immediately reverting to Gohan's old nickname, "when did you miss that this is lying? You're not telling the truth, you're telling the exact opposite. Now say it!"

With obvious difficulty, Gohan tried it.

"Ehm…. I… eh I don't know Goten?" Gohan asked, looking around uncomfortable and asking rather then stating.

"Well, at least you _said_ it…" Sharpener nearly moaned. "Ok, listen. Lying isn't so much about what you say, but it's about HOW you say it. Like with saying the truth, it's all about how you deliver it. When you told me about your past, I immediately believed that everything you said was true, do you know why?"

"Because it was the truth," Gohan asked. "Or because you knew I couldn't lie?"

"No, neither of those," Sharpener exclaimed, standing up in his excitement and starting to walk circles in the kitchen. "I believed you because of how you said it; you were dead serious about everything, never once gave the impression that you didn't believe what you said yourself. That is the most essential part of telling a lie; make people believe that it's true, by acting as if it's true! By telling a lie properly, you can make everyone think that we're twins for all I care."

"Well, that would be a technical impossibility." Gohan started, but he was immediately silenced by Sharpener's glare.

"Don't start on that Gohan. What I mean is that you can tell anything to anyone and they'll believe you if you make them think you believe it. Now, say that same sentence once more but with some confidence.

"Ehm, I don't know Goten…"

"Well at least now you weren't asking it…" Sharpener said as he sat down again. "Now again and with confidence, Believe it yourself!"

"I don't know Goten…" Gohan repeated, his eyes still shooting all over the house.

"Ok, better, now again. Say it five times now."

Gohan did as he was ordered. By the fifth, his voice wasn't shaking as much anymore, but it was still a long way away from sounding anything like a real lie.

"Ok, time for another lie." Sharpener said. "Keep the same level of voice as you've used just now, that was good, but try to keep your face even. If you don't learn to control it now, you'll only mess it up when you try more subtle lies. A lie can easily be detected by your body language."

"Got it," Again Gohan prepared himself.

"Now say; 'I saw Hercule defeat Cell.'"

"Bu-" Gohan started, before he was silenced by Sharpener's glare. "Ehm, I mean; I saw Hercule defeat Cell…"

"Again!"

"I saw Hercule defeat Cell."

"Don't look around the room all scared like that!" Sharpener barked. "With your eyes moving all over the place, it's too easy to detect your lies. Again!"

"I saw Hercule defeat Cell."

"Ok, now say; 'I like Videl!'"

"I like Vi- wait what?!" Gohan interrupted himself, looking at his friend. Sharpener, for his part, dropped from his chair and rolled on the ground laughing.

"Y-you should have seen the look on your face Gohan!" He said nearly three minutes later, when he had finally recovered from his laughing fit.

"Oh; very funny!" Gohan muttered, as close to sarcasm as he'd ever gotten before.

"It was!" Sharpener nearly yelled as he sat back down. "I just wanted to have some fun with you before you grind me into the ground with your training tomorrow. Not like you'll not make a laughing stock out of me after all."

XxX

"Ok, so are you ready for the second bout of training for the day?" Gohan asked as he and Sharpener got ready. Both were wearing sport clothing and Sharpener was already putting on his boxing gloves.

"Sure, let's begin." Sharpener said, swinging his arms around to warm up, throwing a weak punch every now and then.

That morning, Gohan had started Sharpener on an easy training, since it had been nearly two weeks since the last time he had really done a workout, but Sharpener was still feeling the exhaustion running through his system. After the morning run, that had lasted the promised two hours, Sharpener felt pretty tired, but for the morning training he had been forced to do more running.

With Gohan at his side to set the pace, Sharpener had been ordered to run a lap around the Big Mountain Lake, which had taken the better part of an hour, before they both had to do a series of push-ups, sit-ups, squats and two dozen other exercises to increase Sharpener's body's condition and strength. And, to finish it all up, Gohan had ordered Sharpener to do five two-hundred meter dashes on the sand. By the time they were done, Sharpener could feel his entire body burning. Lunch and two hours of rest had served him well, but he was still far from recovered.

"Ok, so after the condition training of this morning, we're going to start with technique. From what I've seen, this is normally trained by the trainer holding mitts and the boxer hitting them. Since I don't have mitts, you'll be hitting my hands instead. Let me warn you, if you hit them too hard you WILL feel pain in your hand. In a worst case scenario you can even break it. Hitting my hand can be compared to smashing into a pure concrete wall; it won't budge unless I want it to."

Sharpener nodded, all the while throwing some weak punches to loosen up his arms and finish his warm up.

"Ok, just hit them as best you can. Don't use any fancy moves; just throw normal punches, mixing jabs with straight, hooks, and uppercuts, whatever. I'll shout a punch that you'll have to use every once in a while, but for the most part I'll let you do it your way, ok?"

"Ok, sure thing. Let's go." Sharpener said as he hopped from one leg to another, assuming a dynamic stance to allow for maximum movement and flexibility.

Crouching to lower his centre of gravity and increase his stability, Gohan raised his hands.

"Go!"

At once Sharpener started moving, punching at Gohan's left hand with a jab, following it up with a second jab to hit the right. Not even flinching, Gohan moved his hands to a new position, forcing Sharpener to change position before he could punch it again.

As both boys where losing themselves in their training, Videl and Erasa were watching it from a distance. Videl had just finished going through her own stances, punches and kicks and was preparing to do some shadowing of her own, while Erasa had walked over to chat with her best friend. They couldn't hear what Gohan and Sharpener were talking about earlier, because they were too far away, but they could clearly see how it was going. After all, they had never seen Gohan really do physical things before. Sure he did P.E. but none of them broke a sweat with it.

"You know, I'm surprised that Gohan is taking such an active role in training Sharpy." Videl said, taking a break from her own training as she watched. "I'd expected that he'd mostly do physical improvements and give orders, suggestions and feedback you know. Teaching from the sidelines; But he did the same training routine as Sharpy did this morning. And now he's even holding the mitts – or something that's an acceptable replacement for it anyway – and he's doing it pretty good."

"Isn't that going to really hurt his hands though?" Erasa's tone was worried, but Videl easily waved her off.

"Nah, Sharpy's still wearing his gloves so the punches are softer. And it's not like he's punching with everything he's got right now. They're still going pretty easy, letting a natural rhythm build first. But eventually, I think it'll start to hurt Gohan yeah. Oh well, his choice. I doubt that there'll be any permanent damage."

Again the two girls fell into silence as they saw the blond- and black-haired guys continue to move around. Of course, Sharpener was moving all over the place, but Gohan wasn't staying stationary either; he was running and jumping around even more then Sharpener was, staying in control of the exercise and keeping a close eye on the blonde's technique. After a couple more minutes of watching, Videl turned away to continue her own training when she suddenly realized something.

"Wait a second, how on earth is Gohan staying in command of the pace?" she almost shouted. Of course, the question wasn't actually aimed at anyone, but Erasa still answered.

"I don't know."

"Sharpener's a pro boxer… but Gohan is moving around faster than Sharpener… and he's moving his hands so fast that Sharpy's breaking a sweat keeping it up. That's impressive, but how's he doing it? There is no way an untrained person can keep up with a professional athlete of any sport, let alone a fighting sport…"

Welll, maybe Gohan's just a natural?" Erasa suggested, but Videl was already lost in thought.

"Maybe… whatever, it's not like I'll get the answers I want right now. Erasa, be careful, I'm going to go shadow." With that Videl turned around and walked away until the two young men were no longer in her sight and began doing her own shadowing. Before long she had lost herself to her movements, emptying her mind as she focused on nothing but the art of fighting.

Erasa, now bored since all her friends were busy doing sports, turned around and returned to the Son household. By now Chichi was probably cooking dinner or something. Maybe she could help out with that.

A little over half an hour after Erasa left, just as Videl was done with her third set of ten minute shadowing, Sharpener and Gohan broke apart for the last time. Letting his exhaustion take over, Sharpener immediately crashed down on the ground so he could sit and catch his breath. Gohan had only given him breaks once every ten minutes and each break only lasted half a minute before they continued again. That; combined with the insane speed and intensity with which Gohan forced him to move had completely exhausted the boxer. Gohan, while not exhausted like Sharpener, was also layered in a very fine coat of sweat.

"Ok, take ten minutes to recover and then we're going into the forest." Gohan announced as he picked up two bottles of water that had been standing nearby. Handing one to Sharpener he continued. "I've prepared a tree so you can punch at it so improve your punches. It's tied down with rope and some linen so you won't break your hands open as soon as you punch it, but you will feel a lot of feedback from it."

"Your hands were already pretty hard you know." Sharpener panted as he took small, controlled sips of the water. "My hands are hurting quite a bit right now."

"Well, I warned you. I can't pull my hands back too quick or you won't actually feel the punches you've landed. And if you can't feel them, you'll never know how it feels to hit something good. And if you can't feel that, you'll never be able to predict how an enemy will feel a punch." Gohan lectured as he also took small sips. "But how do you like the training so far?"

"I'm covered in sweat, my fists are hurting and my entire body is aching in exhaustion." Sharpener simply stated.

"Well, I have to say that you're doing pretty well so far though. Better then I had expected if I'm honest with you."

"When are you NOT honest Nerd-boy?" Sharpener grinned at Gohan. "But what makes you think I need cheering up? Those feelings are the best part of a training, let's me know I'm actually doing something."

"Well that's good." Gohan said, also breaking a grin as he remembered how horrible his first attempt at lying had been. "Now, break is almost over, so let's go. Today we're going to start with your jabs, since those are the punches you'll be using the most."

"Fine by me,"

"Oh and by the way, we'll be doing a single punch for twenty minutes, then you'll be shadowing so I can comment on your form and give some improvements for twenty and repeat that process again. Questions?"

"Yes one; do you enjoy torturing me?" Sharpener joked, faking a groan of pain.

"Only as much as you enjoy torturing me," At Gohan's sudden and unexpected retort, Sharpener could only stare, looking dumbstruck.

"Wow Gohan, I think that was one of the first times you were actually witty. It's so good to see my little boy growing up!" as he said the last part in a good imitation of Chichi, Sharpener hung on Gohan's shoulder like a mother would do a twelve year old. The unexpected motion caused both men to fall to the ground, laughing as they went.

XxX

"I could definitely get used to this." Erasa sighed as she rolled over on her towel to allow her side to catch some of the sun.

"Yeah, that's for sure." Videl agreed, turning another page in her book.

The two girls where lying on the beach of the Big Mountain Lake enjoying the early spring sun and working on getting a tan. A couple hundred meters away from them, Sharpener and Gohan where busy training again. It had been three days since Gohan had started drilling Sharpener – with yesterday being a free day for Sharpy to recover – and Videl and Erasa had stopped being surprised or shocked by the trainings, especially when Gohan easily kept up with the blond or even showed that he was superior to him.

"I'm curious though… What is it that those two do every night? The light stays on until pretty late, considering they wake up at five in the morning each day." Erasa started, trying to keep a conversation going.

"Sharpy said that they're doing card games or something." Videl answered, her eyes never leaving her book.

"And you believe him?"

"I don't know, we all know Sharpy can lie if he wants to, but it doesn't really sound all that strange. What else would two guys do together? Talking about their feelings?"

"Yeah, that's true…"

A comfortable silence reigned over the duo for a couple of minutes as Videl continued reading her book while Erasa simply enjoyed the sun. As Erasa turned around again she had a clear view of the two guys working out. Gohan was using his hands as mitts again, letting Sharpener punch them while both moved around, but that wasn't what the attractive blond looked at.

She just now noticed that both boxer and coach had taken off their shirts to survive in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

"Wauw." Erasa sighed, letting a small whistle escape through her lips.

"What's up?" Videl asked, looking at her friend.

"That." Erasa pointed at the duo, coated in sweat. "I just realized that both Sharpy and Gohan are pretty hot and really muscular."

"I already noticed the muscles and I do believe you realized that Sharp was – and I quote – 'surprisingly hot' two years ago didn't you?"

"Yeah I know, don't even get me started on it." Erasa waved her off. "But we're really lucky aren't we?"

"Why are we lucky now?" Videl enquired, closing her book and placing it next to her before rolling over to look at her friend. In doing so, she also got a good look at the muscular duo. At once her eyes sought out Gohan and scanned over his body, admiring his well-developed but far from bulky muscles.

"We're in a near paradise over here." Erasa stated. "Delicious food whenever we want, a cute kid to play around with who also happens to enjoy playing butler, a sweet and caring motherly figure who's teaching me how to cook that delicious food and most importantly of all; we get to see two hot and muscular guys working themselves into a sweat pretty much every day. If this weather continues, we'll be seeing those two shirtless every day."

"Yeah, that's all true." Videl agreed, her eyes still glued on Gohan. "And you're right; maybe we'll be seeing those two shirtless every day. I can think of a whole lot of things that are much worse then that."

"Definitely. So, who do you think is hotter? Sharpy or Gohan?"

The sudden question caught Videl a bit off guard, since she was still studying the finer parts of Gohan's muscular body, so she was caught red-handed staring at him. Erasa had a knowing and teasing grin on her face as she looked at her best friend. Knowing that grin, Videl quickly – and badly – tried to change the subject.

"I don't know, I was wondering about how it is that Gohan can fight and maneuver that well." She lamely stated.

XxX

Later that same evening, just after dinner, the small capsule house was rather crowded as all four teenagers had gathered there. They each had a glass of soda in front of them and were each holding two cards while three others where lying on the table.

"I check." Sharpener said, finishing up the round. Gohan placed one card face-down – burning the card as Sharpener had called it – and placed another card face up, adding it to the line of three. At once a grin spread across Erasa's face as she pushed some of the chips that where in front of her forward.

"Ok, with that hand I'm raising by fifty."

"I Call." Videl also moved over the same amount of chips, while Sharpener and Gohan looked a bit more thoughtful. Since he had the least amount of chips, this could prove fatal for Sharpener, while Gohan was worrying about whether or not Erasa was bluffing. Finally, Sharpener also pushed forth the amount of chips, leaving his stash dangerously low.

"Today if you please Gohan," Videl teased.

"I quit, ehm I mean I fold." Gohan said, pushing his cards forward, placing them on the pile of face-down cards.

"Ok, next card please." Erasa piped up.

Gohan repeated the process, burning another card and placing the fifth and last card face-up.

"I check." Erasa announced, looking at Videl. The raven-haired fighter was looking thoughtful before she also announced that she checked. Next to them, Sharpener suddenly broke out a huge grin and placed his last chips on the pill.

"All in!" He all but yelled.

While Erasa and Videl where still thinking about whether or not to go along and try to defeat Sharpener or not, the easy conversation resumed as it had before.

"So, for someone who's teaching Gohan how to play poker, you're not that good a player yourself Sharpy." Videl teased.

"I'm not out of the game yet." The blond grinned, looking at the Satan girl defiantly. "I'm making a major comeback right now aren't I?"

Finally, seeing the confidence that Sharpener pretty much radiated, both girls placed their cards on the stack, giving up for the round. At once Sharpener greedily pulled the pile of chips towards him.

"So, let's see them!" Videl demanded, pulling Sharpener's cards out of his hands. "What got you so confident?"

"Wait a second; you've got nothing with these cards!" Erasa squeaked.

"It's called a bluff for a reason."

"So that's how you do a good bluff…" Gohan quietly said, using this more as an opportunity to learn how to bluff, play the game and lie rather then actually winning.

"Yeah, that's about the only thing that he's good at." Videl teased.

"Well, Sharpy's pathetic card-playing skills aside, how're you enjoying the first evening playing poker in a group as opposed to playing it one-on-one?" Erasa asked Gohan as she reshuffled the deck of cards.

"It's fun." He admitted, taking a sip of his drink. "More fun then I'd have thought a card-game could be."

"See I told you, poker doesn't really become fun unless you play it with a lot of people. When we get back to Satan City, we're going to have a poker night with all the guys in class. You'll see the true fun of the game then!" Sharpener said as he received his first card.

"Speaking of school," Erasa started as she dealt the second card to each player, "why do you always wear those weird clothes Gohan? You're a good looking guy; you should definitely start wearing something like jeans and a shirt – maybe even a tight one – to show it off. Right now you're dressed like a… well I mean no offense but you dress a bit like a geek."

Gohan took no offense in it at all, instead just looking at his cards and quickly observing the reactions of the others as they looked at theirs.

"You mean like these?" he asked, pointing at his long-sleeved button-up shirt. Erasa nodded while she looked at her own cards.

"I mean, don't get me wrong, they look nice and all." Erasa quickly said as she placed her cards back on the table. "But they're a bit too nerdy. If you start wearing normal teenager clothes you'll definitely become a lot more popular instantly. I mean, you already looked pretty good in those training clothes you wear when you're breaking Sharpy apart."

"He is not breaking me apart!" Sharpener objected, while he followed Videl's example of placing chips on the table, matching her. "And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Sharpy!"

His cry of outrage was ignored by the others as Gohan again started his old habit of scratching the back of his neck.

"Well…" he reluctantly admitted, also placing some chips forward, "I don't really have any other clothes. My mom bought these for me a while back, and I kinda like them."

"Your mom buys your clothes? Hey man, how old are you?" Sharpener immediately snorted, almost choking on his drink. "Like five or something? I haven't let my mom buy clothes for me since I was ten!"

"No, but by then I was buying all your clothes." Erasa returned; a familiar twinkle in her eyes. "You didn't start buying your own clothes until a year ago. But Gohan… if you don't have any normal clothes… when's your first free day?"

"This Saturday I'm free from work and Sharpener has a day off from training, why?"

"Because we're going shopping, that's why! Vi; Sharpy you coming with us?"

"Oh hell no!" Sharpener immediately cursed. "Saturday is my one day off, no way in hell I'm going to spend it carrying your bags. I'll need it to catch my breath. And besides," now Sharpener suddenly started to grin evily at Gohan, "Gohan hasn't had the… _pleasure_… of joining you on a shopping trip on his own yet."

"Sure I'll come with." Videl said. "You'll need my copter to move around anyway right?"

"No, guys, you don't have to." Gohan started. "Really, I'm ok with my clothes as they are. I don't need new ones."

"Yes you do." Erasa left no area for argument as she placed the first card face down. "You might not think you need a makeover, but I know you need one. It's my duty as a friend to make sure you get one." With a triumphant smile she placed the first card face-up. At once her triumphant look vanished, being replaced by a sour face instead as she looked at her own cards. The two cards that followed didn't do anything to help her mood improve. "Why do I always deal the bad cards to myself?"

"Well Gohan, enjoy your weekend. You'll be too exhausted to do anything on Sunday." Sharpener gleefully said; a grin on his face as he looked at the cards.

"I'll see. Can't be much worse then the shopping spree we went on before Videl's birthday or the android attack can it?"

"Those were nothing!"

At the reminder of those experiences and the promise that this was much worse, even Gohan couldn't stop himself from gulping in fear.

"Oh right, before I forget!" he suddenly said, looking at Sharpener. "Tomorrow I've got to go back to work, so I won't be here to help you train. Instead I've prepared a training schedule for tomorrow and Friday. It's all basic exercises but make sure you do all of them."

"Sure thing, I'll live through it with the thought that on Saturday I'll have the entire day to recover… and you'll be too tired to do anything on Sunday!"

XxX

"Now, with this theory it should work." Gohan muttered to himself as he looked over the blueprints again. It was late afternoon and he was still busy at Capsule Corporation, working on his newest brainchild; a motorcycle for the CCDD that was far superior to the ones they was already using.

"Are you sure?" a scientist – a man in his mid thirties with short spiky black hair – asked, also going over the plans. "While it's true that removing the wheels and replacing them with a hover-device will increase the speed by reducing the friction, it'll also increase the overall weight of the machine. The hover-devices are heavier and bigger then a wheel and its axis. Not to mention that the increase in wind resistance will become so big that you'll need twice as much fuel just to go a couple miles harder."

"True." Gohan admitted. "But what if we rebuild the entire bike, boosting its overall power and gave it a shielding device from the wind? A teardrop shaped force field."

"Theoretically that should be possible." The other scientist agreed, rubbing a hand over his bald head. "However, the shield generator and power supply would also add significant weight to the machine."

"What if we also give the shield a zero-gravity generating function?" Gohan suggested.

"No machine exists that could perform both functions." A third scientist, a blond woman, said as she rubbed her glasses clean. "We would either have to add two separate heavy-weight machines that would make the vehicle too bulky and awkward for practical use, or we would have to create a whole new machine that serves both functions."

"One is highly impractical." The bald man said, now rubbing his chin, "While the other is probably going to take a lot of time and money. So boss, what's the choice?"

"Let's make designs for both for now." Gohan ordered after a few seconds. "After we have the designs ready, we can start thinking about productions and costs."

At once the two other scientists left Gohan's desk, returning to their own and began working. Much like his colleague's – or subordinates as they actually were, considering his position as department head – he also turned to the computer and drawing paper and began working. As he began working on his first idea – drawing a rough outline of how he thought the new Hover-Motorcycle would have to look before trying to even start on how the inner workings would be – Gohan couldn't help but think;

'_It's been a while since I worked but I have to say, it feels good to be back!'_

XXXxxxXXXXxxx

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave a review telling me what you think.

And thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over the chapter and correcting mistakes I've made. Also much thanks to Stalker of Stories for pointing out some things that both Kushin and i mised, i hope you enjoyed your B-day.

leave a review telling me what you think.


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing, it all belongs to someone else who's making a lot of money out of it all.

* * *

Once again Styring calmly walked into the secret laboratory, holding his briefcase and appearing as if he was showing up at just another corporation meeting. In a way, it was. After all, he was going to meet up with his ally and companion, but it wasn't so different from a meeting with a big corporation.

"Good afternoon Doctor." He announced his presence as he placed his suitcase on a table, took off his coat and placed it in the wardrobe behind the table. Some distance in the room, far away from the room, the Doctor was standing, looking over several people strapped down on various tables surrounded by equipment.

"Mr. Behersk." He greeted back, not even turning around. Instead, the Doctor's eyes were focused on his work as his new assistants where running around, taking measurements of the test subjects. Styring walked over to the Doctor, joining him in overseeing the operation.

"Allow me to congratulate you, dear Doctor." Styring began as a pleased smile spread over his lips. "The operation was an utmost success. Both #1 and #2 performed even better then I had hoped. You have my deepest congratulations for your success."

"Of course they would." The Doctor stated, still not looking at his partner. "Their objective was an easy one, although I can not help but wonder what on earth you wish with these… people." The last word was spoken with obvious difficulty: the Doctor had not looked at humans as people for a long time and even now considered them unworthy of the title.

"They are of a rare kind, my good Doctor." Styring simply said, now starting to walk between the tables to examine the subjects. Lead by his curiosity for finding his partner's motives, the Doctor followed, walking right beside him.

"These… people… were all defeated; they are useless to you now."

"And that is where you are wrong, my dear Doctor. You are, of course, correct that they have been defeated. However, that has not made them useless in any way; they are still highly trained, well-disciplined soldiers with more experience and knowledge then most armies. They are without a doubt more skilled then my own men and have much knowledge that I desire to have."

"Perhaps, I will admit that they are on the pinnacle of what humans are capable of, although that still is not worthy of much praise. Humans are all so frail."

"Yes, we are." Styring admitted. "But personally, I find our frailness to be one of our defining assets. And, in these men, I'm sure you can remedy that error, can you not Doctor?"

"Of course I can." The Doctor was obviously insulted at even the slightest doubt in his skills. "But why on earth would you need me to work on so many subjects?"

"Because I have a job for them; a job that cannot be completed right now; but with your unmatched skill, I'm sure they will soon be more then up for the task."

"It will delay my work on the Series Three." The scientist announced. "I will focus the majority of my attention on them, they are far more important then these… tools of yours."

"Of course, you can simply let one of your assistants take control of this particular operation. However, Doctor, I would like you to check on their status at least once a day to ensure our success. Good day Doctor."

Without waiting for a reply, Styring turned around, gathered his things and left the Doctor to his work.

XxX

Gohan closed the door behind him as he walked into Bulma's office, taking a sip of his tea as he moved to the desk. It was actually the head for the department's office, meaning that it was Gohan's office, but Bulma always used it when she was working. Gohan didn't mind, because he preferred walking among the others, talking and sharing ideas with them. After all, that was his job; supporting creativity and going over plans to work out the flaws.

"Morning kid," Bulma said, looking bored behind her computer as she went over her emails. "Gimme a sec to finish this up," She turned back to her email, typing a reply to one of them, and quickly scanned over the others. Gohan walked over to the bookcase on the wall and pulled out a random book on quantum-physics. Bulma finished her emails five minutes later, by which time Gohan had made himself comfortable in an easy chair by the window.

"Ok, all done." she announced. At once Gohan closed the book and placed it on the table before standing up and sitting down in the chair opposite of Bulma's.

"Well Gohan, I'm glad to see you're not feeling nervous with being back at work." She joked as he took another sip of hot tea. "I've seen people freak out just because I asked them to come talk to me."

"Yeah, I can imagine that happening. But I've known you for a really long time now and I can tell if you want to talk about something bad or not when you call me over. And from what you said, it wasn't urgent or negative at all." Gohan admitted, looking a little sheepish. "And I actually feel pretty good being back at work, I didn't realize I missed it so much."

"Well, that's great." Bulma agreed before turning her computer's screen so they could both watch it. "Now, I've wanted to ask you a couple of things about your new project, the improved hover-bikes for the CCDD. I like the base idea, but it's going to need a lot of fine-tuning. Where are you at so far?"

"Well, I made the suggestion to the others the day before yesterday and we started brainstorming on it. I suggested that we use a force field generator combined with an anti-gravity machine to reduce almost all outer forces to zero, maximizing the power that we get from the engine."

"But those are two massive devices, not to mention that they drain an awful lot of power." Bulma mentioned, more thinking out loud then really criticizing Gohan.

"Yeah, that's what the others also said, but I thought that maybe, if we can combine the two machines into one - have the force field double as the anti-gravity machine – we might save a lot of space, making it useable."

"Even if that's possible, it still leaves the problem of high-power usage. You'd need almost three gallons of gas just for twenty kilometers. That's not going to be very efficient."

"Hmm… I hadn't thought of that yet." Gohan was now pacing the room, already lost in his ideas, "But to circumvent that, we could have the motorcycle itself create an additional amount of energy. But how on earth are we going to do that? No-one on my team – or even in the department – is specialized in that particular area."

"Did you go over the application that I mailed to you?" Bulma suddenly asked, an idea dawning on her. "About that new girl who was applying for a job in the department?"

"No, I haven't." Gohan admitted as he sat back down. "But why should I? When you gave me the position, you where very clear that I wouldn't have to do any kind of management, only help out with the ideas and the like. You would take on the actual management, deciding who to fire or hire."

"Doesn't mean I don't want your opinion," Bulma simply said as she drained her coffee cup. "You're going to be working with them, so you have to approve of whether or not they're going to work here."

"Well ok. I guess I can see some reason in that." Gohan said, standing up again to continue his pacing. "So, can you give me a brief explanation about her?"

"Sure thing; She's young, only in her twenties, a redhead, and she finished her university about three months ago. Her area of expertise was actually the economic usage of energy, she might have some good ideas for you to use."

"That's… pretty young." Gohan realized. He never really thought about it, but he was the youngest in the department by twelve years; the other employees where all in their thirties or higher. "I can't really say anything now, but if you can wait till this afternoon, I'll go over her record and see what I think about it. If you're right though, she might make a good addition to the department.

"My thoughts exactly, get someone else who's young in here to revolutionize the way our scientists think. Now, about your motorcycle…" once again, both super-geniuses bent over the screen, discussing various ideas with each other about how best to improve it.

XxX

- BAM –

- BAM-

The loud bangs sent all the birds in the area flying, but Sharpener knew better then to interrupt. Gohan had picked some logs and was now securing them in the ground, using his immense strength to punch the logs twelve feet deep with a single punch. He continued until there where four poles standing from the ground, each the same height and exactly six meters away from the rest. It formed a perfect square, and Sharpener had a good idea about what they where going to be doing.

"Ok, ready?" Gohan asked as he landed and walked over to Sharpener.

"I hope so. Just be careful not to kill me." The blond half-joked as he entered the makeshift boxing ring.

"Well, I've gotten a good feeling for your rhythm, speed, power and level of skill. I should be able to match you. But it might take some fine tuning though, so for now please be careful."

"Well, at least no-one else is around to see me getting my ass kicked. And tomorrow you'll be gone on a shopping spree all day, so I can at least recover a bit."

This much was certainly true; Gohan had taken every measure possible to prevent Videl and Erasa from finding the ring. It wasn't so much the fight itself, but rather for Gohan's fighting prowess. He wasn't certain that he could control his power properly right from the start.

"Ok, are you ready?" Gohan asked as he pulled on his gloves. Sharpener was already jumping and swinging his arms to warm up, his gloves already on.

"Yeah, I think I'm ready." Sharpener said, sanding still and assuming his stance.

"Well then, let's begin our first sparring match." Gohan announced, also assuming a boxing stance.

Before Sharpener had even had a chance to get his bearings, Gohan was already in front of him, his fist almost upon Sharpener's nose. The attack was too sudden and fast for Sharpener to do anything but take it. The impact send the blonde's head flying back, quickly followed by the rest of his body, as he flew out of the ring and straight into one of the large trees some five meters away from the clearing.

"Oops." Gohan lamely said as he saw the effect of his simple punch. "Guess that was a bit too much. Sharpener, are you ok?" He was at his friend's side in a second, turning him around so he at least sat the right side up, and made a quick check. Sharpener's eyes where still glassy, so he was knocked out for a few seconds, but the only other real injury that Gohan's punch had caused was a bruise just below Sharpener's eye and a small stream of blood flowing from his nose. Fortunately, there were no fractures or anything of the kind.

"Damn, Gohan, I thought you said you had it do – aargh." As he complained, Sharpener tried to stand up but immediately fell back with a yell of pain. "No, no, I'm ok; I just need a couple of minutes to get my bearings back. That punch really did a number on me."

"I'm sorry." Gohan said for what seemed like the millionth time. "I really didn't think I'd be moving that fast or hit that hard. I'll try to hold back more next time."

Of course, that was no easy task for the half-saiyan, since the movement just now had already been about a millionth of his real power, even without powering up to maximum.

"Don't worry about it, this isn't the first time I got my legs shocked from a punch you know. Make yourself useful and start working on some more of your fine-tuning while I recover." Sharpener eventually ordered, knowing he needed some rest and that Gohan wasn't helping by hover so close by.

Heeding his friend's words, Gohan returned to the makeshift ring and started swinging his own arms around, shadowing against opponents he couldn't see. He had to try very hard to keep the image of Sharpener as his opponent; any other opponent would spur him into movements far beyond those of a normal human and that would ruin the purpose of the training.

After a few minutes of deliberately slow breathing, Sharpener managed to push himself back up on his feet and announced that he was ready to continue.

"This time I won't attack yet, only move around so I can get adjusted to your speed, how's that?," Gohan asked as they stood in the centre of the ring.

"Ok, let's try that."

"Ready? BEGIN."

This time it was Sharpener who took the initiative, charging at Gohan and swinging a punch clear through the air where Gohan's head had been a mere second ago. Gohan appeared on the other side of the ring, looking somewhat sheepish.

"That was a little too fast I think." He mumbled. By now Sharpener had found him and charged forward again, his hands flying in the patterns they'd memorized in years of training.

Yet for all Sharpeners efforts, he couldn't once connect with Gohan. The raven-haired youth kept slowing down further after every dodge, but his reaction and movement were still so well-developed that the blond boxer never even got close. After almost twenty minutes of missing swings, Gohan had finally managed to find the right level of speed, no longer disappearing from Sharpener's sight with every move like he teleported; his speed was now sufficiently low that the boxer could actually corner his opponent.

When Gohan's back was placed against the corner, Sharpener repeated his barrage of punches, hoping to finally hit something now that Gohan could only move sideways. Nothing was further from the truth; even with simple switches of his bodyweight, Gohan could evade most punches, using his experience in fighting and much higher reaction time to read any and all punches Sharpener was going to throw. The few that he wasn't able to dodge at that speed, he parried with his gloves, still not allowing anything to hit him.

"Ok, that's enough." Gohan announced as Sharpener dropped to the floor in exhaustion. "I think I've got the speed down now, wouldn't you say?"

"Wha…" Sharpener panted, his breathing extremely heavy, "Yeah… sure… just… gimme… a few… minutes."

"Sure, take some time to get back your breath. In the meantime, I'll explain what we're going to be doing for the rest." At Sharpener's nod, despite his eyes still being cast to the sky as he lay fully stretched on the ground, he continued. "I've got the movement speed down now, so that won't be a problem. But we still have to work on my attack speed, attack power and how strong I should make my blocks. And since we still have about an hour and twenty minutes left, we'll be doing each of those for about twenty minutes each, using the remaining time to get back some energy. That should be enough for me to get it down."

On the floor, Sharpener simply nodded his head, still trying to catch his breathing.

Three minutes later, they stood in the ring again, Sharpener placing his hands in a tight cross-arm block, prepared for the onslaught that was sure to come.

However, Gohan proved himself far more careful this time around; instead of actually hitting Sharpener – and risking accidentally killing him – Gohan purposely missed all his punches, checking for Sharpener's reaction to them. The movement was, for Gohan's standards, slow enough to carefully observe Sharpener's movements and reaction to the punches. Whenever Sharpener made a small movement behind is block, sometimes as miniscule as a twitch of his eye, it showed that he had seen the punch coming. Using those small clues, Gohan continued to adjust his speed, slowing down all the time, until at last Sharpener's reaction where almost enough to dodge the punches.

"That's it!" Sharpener finally yelled, ducking underneath one punch and then sidestepping the follow-up short hook. "This is a speed I can react too, I can follow this."

"Good." Gohan confirmed, never relenting in his assault. "That'll do."

As they stopped to gain their breath again, since Sharpener had been forced to move around quite a bit during the spar, Gohan noticed that he too was covered in a fine layer of sweat.

"So far, so good." Gohan said as he drunk some water. "But now we're going to have to do the most dangerous part; matching my power to something you can handle."

"Yeah, any idea's how you're going to do that without killing me in the process?" Sharpener asked, only half joking.

"We'll go at it one punch a time and you'll have to tell me how to adjust." Gohan answered after a few seconds of thought.

"Assuming I'm still conscious enough to do so."

"Yeah, that too, I'll start with a punch about half as strong as the one I hit you with earlier. I know you'll survive it, if nothing else; and we can go from there."

So, a few minutes later they stood in the ring once again, Sharpener with his block up and Gohan in a standard boxing stance, his right tucked in at his side and his left to the front for quick jabbing.

"Ok, here I go. I'll start with jabs."

With that he let his left fly straight at Sharpener's block. The hit – light as it was supposed to be – still knocked Sharpener down to the ground, grabbing at his arms in pain; the punch had still been far stronger then anything a normal boxer could throw.

"Weaker!" Sharpener yelled as he gathered himself again. "Much weaker!"

The next jab Gohan sent had a similar effect, knocking Sharpener down, although it left him without the feeling of his arms nearly breaking. The third jab, significantly weakened and carefully executed, was brushed off by Sharpener's block, much to the surprise of both fighters.

"Ok, that was good, maybe a little harder. But only a little!" Sharpener hastily said as Gohan readied himself for another attack. The fourth jab pushed aside sharpener's block, but left the blond standing.

"Ok, it might be a bit strong for a jab, but it's nothing extraordinary."

"Ok then. Now on to the next punch, a straight." Gohan cheerfully said, happy with the rate of success.

"What?" Sharpener's voice and face were filled with fear, "I'm going to die…"

As they finally moved out of the forest almost an hour later, Sharpener showed that he had only barely been proven wrong; his entire body was pained and his arms and torso were filled with bruises. He had been so exhausted and pained that he could barely walk, instead having Gohan – to the blonde's great reluctance – carry him until they were just barely out of sight from the Son residence.

Gohan on the other hand looked perfectly fine; the only prove of any physical exhaustion where the few drops of sweat that where still gathered around his head. Even so, he faked an attempt at dragging his feet and slumping his shoulders – at Sharpener's orders – but a lifetime of training in good manners and appearance by his mother, along with his training and pride as a warrior, prevented this little act from being effective.

Gohan pushed open the door and placed Sharpener on the sofa before dropping down on it himself, a surprised Videl and Dumbstruck Erasa sitting across from them. They had just had a small lesson from Chichi in cooking – at Erasa's request – and were now taking it easy while sipping some tea.

"What the hell happened to you Sharpener?" Videl immediately asked when she saw the state Sharpener was in. "You look like you got beaten into oblivion by an entire gang."

"Yeah, you look awful. Those bruises will probably be black in the morning." Erasa said, already standing up and examining Sharpener closer.

"It's nothing." Sharpener's attempt at brushing them of was valiant, if useless. Neither Videl nor Erasa would let something like this slip past without further enquiry.

"Gohan, you tell us; what exactly happened to Sharpy?" Videl asked, also standing up and placing her hands on her hips for emphasis. Combined with the half-glare, half-worried look on her face, Gohan couldn't help but suddenly realize that she looked very… impressive… when so angered and worried. He couldn't – wouldn't – think of a better word to use to describe it.

"Like Sharpener said, it wasn't really anything big; today's training ended up making him a bit bruised…"

Over at the side Sharpener smiled as Gohan made his first attempt at practical lying that Sharpener had taught him not three days ago; don't tell the truth if you can't twist it.

"And what kind of training would that be?"

Too bad it didn't work on Videl, who was now deadest on finding out the truth.

"Ehm… you know…"

"Gohan!" The fire in Videl's eyes nearly tripled in intensity as he tried to dodge her question, making Videl go so far as to step forward to stand directly next to him, standing on tiptoes and still looking upward to glare at his face.

"Sparring." The answer left his mouth before Gohan had even realized it, since he was still too surprised by Videl's sudden closeness.

"Sparring?" Videl slowly repeated, stepping back and taking on a non-believing look. "You're telling me that you, Gohan, beat up the third ranked boxer of the nation like this, without even suffering an injury yourself?"

At this, Gohan didn't manage to make a reply, until Sharpener suddenly started a pained laugh; it was faked and just a second to late, making Videl question it.

"Of course not, Vi." Sharpener quickly said, glancing around the room for a split second before looking his eyes on hers. "It was more of a preparation for sparring, with Gohan having to get used to all the moves and the like, so I had to serve as his human boxing ball. The reason I'm this beat up is because he's got a lot more power behind his punches then either of us expected and it took him a while to get used to the movements. It's nothing really big."

Gohan eagerly nodded at this explanation, agreeing with Sharpener but not trusting his own words to add to the twisted truth, but Videl was interrupted by Chichi's call for dinner. And since there was no talking to Gohan when he was eating his dinner – if it could even be called eating and not inhaling it – the questions would have to wait for a later time. A time when Sharpener wouldn't be around…

And tomorrow, they would have plenty of time. After all, Sharpener wasn't going to come along with the shopping trip. And since they would leave immediately after breakfast, as Erasa was going to inform Gohan after dinner, there was no shortage of time. All she had to do, was distract Erasa long enough to get Gohan alone and force some answers out of him.

Videl walked to the dining table with a confident smile on her face again, already making plans on how to get Gohan alone the next day.

'_Easy as pie._'

XxX

'_What was I thinking?_' Videl questioned herself as she followed Erasa around the mall. '_I should know better then to think Erasa would leave us alone on a shopping trip…_'

As Erasa had said, they left immediately after breakfast, although Sharpener hadn't even woken up yet. At Chichi's orders, he had taken a sleeping pill last night so he could peacefully sleep through his injuries instead of waking up in pain in the middle of the night. By now Videl was starting to wish she was back at Chichi's house instead, interrogating Sharpener rather then trying to get Gohan alone.

Videl didn't mind shopping, it was in fact one of her favorite hobbies, but today's objective had been to get Gohan to talk to her about what happened to Sharpener; there was no way that Sharpy would allow himself to be beaten up so thoroughly, no matter what he said. But there was another problem as well; taking Gohan to a location where they could be alone was one thing, but making sure that Erasa wouldn't notice it was something completely different.

Should the bubbly blond notice Videl's attempts at getting the tall, dark-haired and not-unattractive Gohan alone, she would help out in any way she can, of that Videl had no doubts. But it would come at a high cost; Erasa would think that Videl liked Gohan or, even worse, that she might have a serious crush on the tall teen. And that was something Videl would avoid at all costs; Erasa would do everything in her power to ensure that Gohan and Videl would then get into embarrassing and awkward situations, just so they could 'realize their love and get enough smarts to act on it' as Erasa would say.

So as they strolled into yet another clothing store in the South City Mall – the biggest and best shopping centre in the entire country – Videl had almost abandoned her attempts to get Gohan alone. It was nearing the late afternoon anyway, so they wouldn't have much time left. And she still had plenty of opportunity to corner Gohan back at his place, without Erasa noticing.

With that thought in mind, she placed down her bags again and stepped aside just in time for Gohan to drop his load of bags. Erasa had not exaggerated when she said they would be buying a lot of clothes; already Gohan was loaded down with no less then six bags. 5 of which where stuffed to the brim with new clothing for him, obtained from no less then twenty different stores, and the last was full of clothes for the girls. Videl had not allowed Gohan to carry the remaining two bags – her pride demanding that she would not pose herself as a helpless little girl – while Erasa had no such problems.

Inside the shop, Erasa immediately pulled Gohan over to the t-shirt section by his sleeve.

"More shirts?" Gohan asked, a bit spooked. "But we already have so many of them… shouldn't we go and get a raincoat or something?"

"A raincoat?" Erasa asked; shocked and appalled at the suggestion. "You mean like a trench coat?"

Gohan carefully nodded, but was at once silenced by Erasa's dark look.

"Gohan Son." She started, a look of pure poison on her face, "Trench coats are only for people who try so hard to look cool and mysterious that they end up looking like complete idiots. If you want to look good, you'll wear a normal coat or jacket and take the rain like a man! And since we already bought a couple of jackets for you we're going to buy some more shirts. You need to have enough shirts to wear three different shirts a day for a week."

"Hey Erasa, I'm going to try this on." Videl announced from a different rack of the shop. She raised a blue top and disappeared into the corner of a shop to fit it after Erasa had given a satisfied nod. While Erasa had been lecturing Gohan about coats and jackets, she had simply been browsing for new shirts until she had found something that she could fit.

As Videl pulled off her shirt to try on her new top, she could still hear Erasa's continuing a lecture to Gohan about how clothes should all fit together instead of simply selecting a random selection of shirts and colors. Videl had been forced to sit through several lectures just like the one Gohan was suffering through at that moment.

Videl had just barely put her hands through the top's sleeves when suddenly everything went silent in the shop. Erasa let out a loud squeal, before she was obviously silenced by someone else. Other similar sounds came from the rest of the shop. Based on the sounds, Videl would estimate that around six people had been forcibly silenced. The most obvious solution that Videl could think off was a sudden robbery, with several captured people to serve as hostages and leverage.

But before Videl had even managed to pull her hands out of the shirt, an awfully familiar voice sounded from the outside. A voice she hadn't heard for almost two years.

"Videl Satan, I know you're in there. Get out now or your best friend, my ex girlfriend, will suffer for it."

* * *

And another chapter over and done, hope you liked it.

As always thanks to my beta Kushin-eX for going over this chapter.

And as always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	39. Chapter 39

IMPORTANT NOTE: I'm working on a scientific research project among gamers and fanfiction writers and I would like to ask everyone who reads this for assistance: our research is based on a questionnaire that I will link to in the next chapter, if you would all be so nice as to answer it that would really be a big help. The data will of course be completely anonymous. Thanks and enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Dragonball universe, just borrowing it.

* * *

"Videl Satan, I know you're in there. Get out now or your best friend, my ex girlfriend, will suffer for it."

Reluctantly Videl followed the order, knowing that even taking off the top that was still around her arms was out of the question. This man, she knew, was ruthless and merciless. She had experienced that herself two years ago. So, with her arms tied by the shirt, Videl stepped out of the changing room and looked around, expecting to see a mob of brown hair.

Instead of the hair, she saw seven people with ski-masks inside the store. One of them, the speaker and leader of the bunch, was holding Erasa around the middle, pressing her arms against her sides, while holding a knife to her throat. At once she noticed that his physique had improved significantly. He had grown at least 2 sizes of pure muscle since they had last met.

"Ah, there you are." He said once he saw Videl appear. "And you've already tied your hands for us, how nice. You, tie her up a bit better." At once one of the six others moved forward, pulling out a piece of plastic cable from his pocket. He was obviously cautious when approaching Videl, knowing her ability to fight, even with her hands tied up, but any and all resistance that the raven fighter could put up was rendered void by the next comment.

"And Videl, if you make even one movement I don't like, Erasa will be the one to pay for it. I know you don't really care if you get hurt, but I'm sure you're not so confident when it's the life of your best friend on the line."

"Let me go!" Erasa yelled. "Why do you always have to use me, Billy!"

"What?" Billy almost yelled. "What do you mean, always? I've never used you before, and I'm only doing so now because you are the only reason Videl will do as I say."

"Oh please, don't try that lie." Erasa replied, tears starting to gather at her eyes. "Two years ago, I know you just used me to get closer to Videl!"

"I didn't." Billy's voice was filled with venom as he realized the accusation. "I became a student of Hercule's on my own and I started dating you afterwards didn't I? Why on earth would I have used you?"

"To get closer to Videl, I know you were going to kill her!"

"I didn't." Billy simply said. "Why would I want to kill her? I enjoyed sparring with her; she was good, even if she was younger then me."

"Because of your oh so nice work. We heard everything after you were arrested. You were ordered to kill Videl, that's what you tried to complete when your job was revealed!"

"Oh, so those were the rumors immediately afterwards eh?" Again, Billy's voice rose in volume. "Well, let me squash the rumors now; I was never ordered to kill Videl or anyone else from Hercule's gym. I kept a very clear line between work and private life. The only reason I fought against Videl was because she stood in my way when I was trying to get out! And it's not my fault that she gets hurt when fighting against a superior fighter!"

By this time Videl, who had been bound while the former couple was arguing, also spoke up. "You still have the nerve to call yourself a fighter? You're nothing more then a murderer, a pathetic excuse for a human who takes orders from the mob!"

"Enough! What did I do to earn this?" Billy shouted, turning Erasa around so he could look her in the eyes. "When was I ever a bad boyfriend? When was I ever bad for you? I did everything back then to make you happy, I loved you!"

"You paid everything with the blood of others, you tried to kill my best friend, you're a murderer and you have the nerve to ask me what you did wrong, you sick bastard!?" by now there were tears running down Erasa's cheeks.

"And how the hell did you get out of prison? You were sentenced to sit in jail for life!"

"Shut up!" there was a new flame in Billy's eyes – barely visible through the mask - and it scared Erasa. It wasn't a flame of passion or desire, but a flame of pure and unadulterated anger. Pure and complete rage. "You want to know how I got out of prison? I broke out, when the entire goddamn place was blown to Kingdom Come three days ago. And I took my friends here with me. And there is one thing that you really start to miss when you're in prison. You think I'm a bastard? So far I've done nothing to you. I'll give you both a reason to call me a bastard!"

With a single motion, Billy slashed his knife down along Erasa's shirt, cutting it in half. Her bra, being just below her shirt, was also cut but it still stayed in place. At once, there was fear on Erasa's face as she realized what was going to happen.

"I've always, ALWAYS, waited for you to be ready. Now, we're through waiting. Enjoy you guys." With a careless flick, he threw Erasa towards the five men still waiting in front of the remaining hostages and customers. One of them, a gun draw, paid attention to the crowd, while the others immediately gave in to their animal instincts and jumped Erasa.

"And now for you Videl. I see your shoulder healed perfectly well from the cut I gave you; time to see how you've grown these past few years." With a nod of his head, Billy gave the last man, the one who had tied Videl's arms, a silent order to attend to Videl. With a dangerous grin on his face, clearly seen through his ski-mask, he approached Videl.

Before he had even made three steps towards her, he was suddenly thrown to the side. Another masked robber, the one who had been holding the crowd under control, had flown straight into him. The two crashed to the ground, dazed for a minute. At once, following instinctive curiosity, both Billy and Videl turned around to look at the source of the flying robber.

Gohan was standing in front of the crowd, his leg still extended from the kick he had given to send the man flying, only now slowly moving back so he stood on both feet again. The other robbers, who where still huddled around Erasa had all stopped their activity and looked at the tall teen. But Videl immediately noticed something different; this wasn't the Gohan she had known for almost nine months. That Gohan, the nice, sweet, naïve geekish boy, had always stood with a slouch and never made Videl worry.

This Gohan was standing up straight, his shoulders broad and chest tightened. But there was more. For some reason, when she looked at him like that, every sense in Videl's body was telling her to run away, to get away from his man who she hardly recognized. She had never before felt such insane pressure, even when fighting against her father, or against Alpha-4, or even android #1.

Before Videl could identify the feeling that was coursing through her, paralyzing her entire body, Gohan began moving. Even with her fighting-trained senses, she had difficulty keeping up with his movements.

All four robbers were sitting or standing around Erasa. Stepping forward, Gohan punched the first in the face, sending the man's face flying backward. At the same time, he kicked the second in the side, doubling him over in an awkward angle. He immediately grabbed Erasa's shoulder and roughly pulled her up and threw her backwards towards the rest of the hostages.

The message was clear to everyone looking: this was not going to be nice.

The two punched robbers recovered a bit while Erasa had been liberated, proving that they were experienced fighters. The four now had Gohan surrounded, but the black-haired teen didn't seem to care.

In one fluid motion, he lashed out with his left leg, kicking the legs out from one of the robbers. Continuing with the rotational movement, he switched his legs around, so he was now standing on his left while his right kicked another robber in the chest. From that position he punched outward with both hands, hitting each robber straight in the chest.

All four men where down on the ground, grunting in pain. The two others, who were standing near Videl, had pulled out their guns and were aiming towards the youngster.

Videl tried to yell a warning, but before a sound had even left her mouth, Gohan dashed towards the gunners. In a second he had moved the six or so meters, the guns following his movement, and was in between the two. The guns roared.

And like it had done all those months ago, when Videl was watching two other men gun each other down, everything seemed to happen much slower to her eyes then they actually were.

Standing in between the two gunmen, Gohan pushed off with one leg and twisted his body. As a result, he made a horizontal spin in mid-air; the first bullet flew just underneath his armpit, as opposed to his chest, while the second moved just underneath his back, as opposed to entering his spine.

Time sped back up as Gohan landed on his feet again. Both gunners fell to the ground, shock clear on their face as blood erupted from wounds inflicted by their comrade.

Turning around, Videl looked Gohan in the eyes for a second and at once the pressure she was feeling intensified tenfold. Gohan's eyes were shooting fire, different from anything she had ever thought possible from her friend.

The contact was gone before Videl even realized exactly what the feeling he gave her was, Gohan turning back around to the four men he had knocked down. They were struggling to get back up.

All four had gotten back to their feet, but couldn't stand up yet. Apparently, Gohan didn't mind that, because he turned back to finish what he started. A few steps before he reached them, he jumped so his feet were on the same height as his opponent's heads. Gohan's head was mere centimeters away from the shop's ceiling.

One leg shot out, hitting a robber in the neck, and Gohan used that short second of contact to push off and stay in the air. This time Gohan performed a perfect split, kicking two men in the head, one between the eyes and the other at the temple. Both crashed to the floor as Gohan landed back on his feet, spun around and struck the last man standing in the chest, doubling him over, and finished things off by catching him in a pincer between a knee and elbow. The man was out cold before he even had a chance to scream in pain.

All this had happened in the time span of about a minute and a half. Gohan returned to his previous stance, arms down his side in fake relaxation. It wasn't a fighting stance at all, but even so the pressure Gohan gave off was immense.

"What the fuck…" Billy cursed as he got into a stance himself, his knife held in front of him to quickly strike. Gohan took a step towards Billy, then another and another. Billy had also stepped forward twice, so they were just barely outside of each other's striking range.

"I guess Videl's got a new bodyguard." Billy tried, feigning an attack. Gohan replied in kind, feinting with his shoulder. But while he kept eye contact with his masked opponent, Gohan didn't make a sound, no reply to Billy's remark at all.

Without a warning, Billy's knife slashed forward. At once Videl realized that he now only grown broader while in prison, he was also faster then before. Even so Gohan was faster, easily slapping Billy's knife-wielding hand aside with his right and giving an uppercut to the chin with his left. Immediately afterwards he stepped back to avoid Billy's right-handed swing.

Again Gohan stepped forward, knocking aside Billy's attempt at attacking while he was still dazed. Just before his attack hit Gohan pulled his arm back, bent through his knees and punched Billy in the gut. A punch to the temple finished it up, sending Billy backwards, hardly able to keep his balance.

Billy suddenly found himself with his back to the wall. Using it to stabilize himself, he gained a few seconds of recovery while Gohan was still standing in front of him, not attacking. Pushing off with his unarmed right hand, Billy attempted a third attack at Gohan. But it met with the same level of success as the others; stepping forward, Gohan blocked Billy's arm by placing his own on the inside, preventing the masked man from slashing at him. From there he continued with a second punch to the body, followed by a third from the same hand. Billy gasped in pain and Gohan immediately struck him in the face, forcing him back again.

During the short struggle they had turned around, so this time Billy didn't have a wall to catch him. Instead he desperately tried to stabilize himself as blood flowed freely from his nose. Gohan took a step backwards, creating some distance, before dashing forward two steps and jumping up. Spinning around in mid-air, Gohan lashed out with his feet.

Billy barely managed to raise his arms to block the first hit, but the force of Gohan's attack easily knocked his arms to the side. Without landing or slowing down, Gohan continued his spin and kicked Billy in the chin with the heel of his other foot, exposing his neck. Demonstrating acrobatics Videl had never imagined possible, Gohan twisted himself in mid-air and lashed out with his first leg again, hitting Billy straight in the jugular.

The former student of Hercule stumbled into the wall behind him, blood flowing from his nose worse then ever, a strange noise coming from his throat. Gohan caught himself on one arm and flipped backwards to land on his feet, no two centimeters before the stunned group of hostages. As soon as he had recovered, Gohan walked forward, looming over Billy before reaching down and pulling him up by his shirt.

Gohan was already a good twelve centimeters taller then his opponent, but he pulled him up with one hand, holding him above his head, so Billy's feet were dangling far above the ground. Without a second's pause, Gohan pulled back his right arm, aiming his first directly at Billy's obviously broken nose.

'_If Gohan strikes him at that angle, he'll kill him!_' Videl realized. At the same time she realized something else as well. The odd way of dodging the bullets, striking at critical area's like he had without discrimination, everything pointed out that Gohan wasn't fighting to disable his opponents. He was fighting to kill.

"Stop it!" a woman's voice yelled from the crowd, just before Gohan's fist started to move.

"GOHAN!" Videl suddenly yelled, unable to stop herself.

At once Gohan's fist stopped, less then a centimeter removed from Billy's face. A second later Billy was released from Gohan's grip. Then Gohan did something Videl hadn't expected him to do.

He looked around the shop in shock and surprise, turning around to look in turns at Videl and the hostages on the ground. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, shock appearing on his face as he looked around the shop once more.

"No… No… No I…" Gohan started, stumbling backward, shaking his head. There was confusion on his face, but it was mixed with fear. Suddenly he fell backward, having tripped over the leg of one of the robbers. Looking at the reason he suddenly fell on his behind, Gohan saw the legs of a motionless robber. He immediately continued pulling himself backward, frantically moving with hands and feet at the same time. And all the while he kept shaking his head and muttering. "No…no, I didn't do… no, no, no."

'_What on earth is going on?_' Videl thought just as surprised by Gohan's sudden behavior as his previous fighting prowess. Then she realized that none of the others had moved either.

"Someone call an ambulance!" Videl shouted. The shout seemed to be the signal for everyone to come back to life, because they could suddenly move again. One of the employees slowly moved between the robbers to reach a phone. Someone else came up to Videl with scissors to free her. Everyone stayed well-clear of Gohan, who had pulled himself up into a corner, his face buried in his knees, shaking his head all the time while he kept muttering.

XxX

A few seconds after the phone had rung, Chichi reached the machine and pulled it up.

"Son Residence, Chichi speaking."

"Chichi?" Videl's voice sounded on the other end, something sounding very wrong.

"Videl, honey, what is it?" at once her maternal instincts went into overdrive. She liked all of Gohan's new friends and was already beginning to care for them like an extension of the family.

"It's Gohan, something's wrong with him."

"What!? What happened!?" The mother all but yelled. She still clearly remembered all the worries that she had suffered for her eldest child when he was still young. It had made her highly protective of him back then, but even now she still hated to think about all her boy had to go through.

"I don't know." Videl admitted. "There was a robbery in a store we were in, the robbers took Erasa and everyone else hostage, but Gohan suddenly beat them all up in a few minutes, but now he's sitting in a corner and won't react to anything we do or so. And we can't move him at all."

"What…" Chichi gasped. She still vividly remembered the last time Gohan had fought off normal humans, an experience that he had never really recovered from. It took her a few seconds before she realized she had to do something. "Where are you now?"

"South City Mall."

"Ok, stay there. A friend of ours lives in South City, I'll call him and get him to help you move Gohan. He'll be there in a few minutes."

Before Videl could respond Chichi killed the connection, however rude it was, and took a second or two to recover. Then she dialed the first of two numbers to call.

First Yamcha to help move Gohan; then Krillin so he can talk to Gohan.

XxX

Videl was standing just opposite of Gohan, wearing a new shirt she had quickly purchased. Erasa was right next to her, also wearing a new shirt and bra, while medics where pulling the wounded robbers away and into several ambulances. The police had already arrived as well, but upon seeing Videl they had kept a respectful distance. They knew very well that the young Satan had a free license to fight off criminals, as long as she didn't use lethal force.

It hadn't even been five minutes since she called Chichi, but Videl suddenly noticed a large, black-haired, scarred man walking into the store. Without wasting any time he marched over to Gohan, ignoring the cops that came in after him, and looked him over.

"You two must be Videl and Erasa." He asked, his voice much kinder then his appearance suggested. "Chichi called me. Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine." Videl immediately replied. Then she recognized the man. "You're Yamcha!"

"Yeah, that's me." Yamcha said with a grin. "Guess I can't escape my fame huh."

'_Of course not,_' Videl thought.'_You're a former World Championship competitor who turned into a professional baseball player. And you're considered the best player in the world. Who wouldn't have heard of you?_'

"Well, you can explain what happened while we get out of here. I'll carry him." With a grunt but no significant effort, Yamcha lifted Gohan up and swung him across his shoulder. The teen didn't even respond, still lost in his own world somewhere.

Once outside of the shopping mall, Videl quickly pulled her Jetcopter out of its capsule. Three minutes later the copter had been loaded and took off.

"So, what exactly happened back there? Who were the robbers?" Yamcha inquired, still keeping an eye on Gohan.

"I'm not really sure what happened, but Gohan beat up all those robbers without a problem. And I don't know about the others, but the leader of the robbers was an old student of my father's. It's a long story." Videl explained.

"Well, we've got time and I love stories." Yamcha returned.

XxX

"**It was about two years ago" Videl started.**

Videl gratefully accepted the hand that pulled her back up. She was still off balance from the fight, so she immediately fell forward and was caught by her opponent.

"Easy there." Billy Joel said, helping her stand. "You keep that up and Erasa will start accusing you of trying to steal me away from her." He grinned as he pulled one of her arms over his shoulder to help her out of the ring.

"As if," Videl tried to reply, but her stumble made the remark lose all power. Only Billy's stabilizing arm around her waist kept her from falling on the mats again.

After he had placed Videl on a bench, Billy quickly took a seat next to her, panting for breath and clutching a painful side.

"How many does that make now?" he asked, knowing the answer perfectly well.

"You know the score." But in her mind, Videl couldn't help but answer it. '_Twelve to one__,_'

"I know, I just love to hear you say it," again he had that confident, slightly arrogant grin on his face. "Well I'm going to go take a shower; I've got a date with Erasa tonight. Want me to tell her anything?"

"What, you two actually talk when you're going somewhere?"

"Of course we do Vi." Another voice cut in from Videl's side. Erasa had entered the gym and walked up to the two fighters. "You should stop complaining about us kissing every once in a while."

"I wouldn't complain if it was once in a while. It's more like you two come up for air every once in a while."

Videl's reply was ignored however, since Billy had stood up put his arms around Erasa's waist hugging her close as he looked into her eyes.

"Hey girl, you're early. I still have to go shower, we just now finished our sparring match." He said. Despite being Erasa's senior by two years, Billy was just as clingy as the blond, maybe even more. It also didn't help that she was actually the more experienced when it came to dating; Erasa had had two other boyfriends – one when she was twelve and another when she was fourteen – while this was Billy's first relationship ever. And the seventeen year old fighting prodigy did everything he could to make sure their relationship was as mushy as they were in the worst of chick-flicks.

"Will you two get a room already?"

"Videl, don't act like that." a fourth, older and more powerful voice cut in. Hercule had also decided to join the group of teens. "Billy, nice work today, but be sure to work on your pullback. There's too much time delay between your attacks, you can get a lot of gain there."

Billy had quickly released Erasa for fear of incurring his idol and teacher's anger, and nodded his head. The reaction made the champ laugh his loud roar of laughter.

"Relax Billy; you've been here for three years now. You should know I won't bite of your head because you're thinking about your girlfriend after training. Just make sure it doesn't disrupt your actual training. But on another note!" Billy had relaxed for a second, glancing at Erasa with a silly grin again. Erasa returned it in kind before Hercule drew their attention back at him. "Please don't display all that lovey-dovey stuff around here. The others are starting to get a bit annoyed with the way you two act around each other. Meet up outside of the training hall ok."

The duo made somewhat shy grins, a blush gathering on their faces while nodding.

"And be sure that Erasa's back home by eleven." Hercule concluded. "Otherwise Mark'll get mad at me again."

Hercule turned around, paying attention to his other pupils again. Billy gave Erasa a quick goodbye kiss and disappeared to the changing room for a shower, while Videl stayed on the bench to recover. At least the world had stopped spinning and twisting, which was a good sign.

For three years now, ever since her father had scouted him, Billy and Videl had been training together and developed a healthy rivalry. Billy was older, bigger and stronger, while Videl had more talent, technical skill and speed. But not until a year ago were they allowed to spar with each other, and even then only once a month. And off those spars, Videl had only once won. She had some advantages, but they weren't big enough to win. Billy was simply too good.

Taking a deep breath, Videl risked standing up again. This time she could actually stand on her own. Just as Erasa started talking to Videl – probably to ask if her clothes were good enough for her date – Videl noticed a new visitor. There was a police officer in the doorway to the gym. Since Videl had started crime fighting two months prior, the sight of a policeman entering the gym wasn't that odd. Commissioner Yolal send someone over at least once a week to thank her for her services, inform her of changes in the force and once even with a warning that she was bordering excessive use of force.

"Ah, Miss Satan." The officer recognized her as she walked closer. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if a Mister Billy Joel is still present? I've heard he trains at your father's gym."

"Yeah he does, he's taking a shower right now. He'll probably be done in a minute or so. What's it about?"

"I'd rather not say until I speak with Mr. Joel myself. Terribly sorry."

Apparently another of the fighters had heard, because a man in his young twenties walked into the men's changing room and could clearly be heard shouting in amused tones.

"Yo, Billy, someone saw you taking a leak by the highway! There's a cop here to see you, hurry it up man."

Half a minute later Billy waked out wearing jeans and nothing else. From his wet chest he had obviously rushed out from under the shower. The policeman walked forward until he was standing in front of the muscular teen.

"You are Billy Joel?" the officer enquired. At a nervous nod of Billy's he continued, suddenly pulling out his handcuffs. "I'm here to place you under arrest under suspicion of four cases of first-degree murder, eight cases of excessive use of violence, hindering an official police investigation and tax fraud. Please cooperate quietly and accompany me to the station, then there will be no need for these." He made a motion with his head to indicate the cuffs. The small jingle the iron made as it bounced together was deafening in the sudden silence of the gym.

"You have the right to remain silent." The man continued, still keeping eye contact with Billy. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to" but Billy's right was not heard as he suddenly lunged forward and punched the cop square in the chest, knocking the breath out of him and forcing him back. Billy took a few steps forward, making a dash towards the g's right was not heard as he suddenly lunged forward and punched the cop square in the chest, knocking the breath out of him and forcing him back. Billy took a few steps forward, making a dash towards the gym's exit, but the silence that rang through the gym was broken.

One of Hercule's students was standing into Billy's path, still looking confused about what was going on. Billy knocked him down with a shoulder-bash and continued to run. Another quickly recovered and launched himself at the fleeing fighter. Billy turned around, evading the first punch. The man tried to talk, something about calming down, but his words were lost as Billy reached out for the first thing he could get his hands on and smashed it into the man's face.

It was a five kilogram iron dumbbell. There was a sickening sound of iron crushing bone, but Billy was on the move again before his victim even fell down. A second later, he had pulled out a knife from his jean's pocket and slashed it across the chest of the third shocked athlete who stood in his way. By this time Videl had recovered enough to know she had to do something.

Billy moved right past her and Erasa, panic clear on his face, when Videl lashed out. The kick caught Billy's leg, causing him to trip and stumble to the floor. Rollin with his fall, Billy quickly stood back up and continued his path towards the door. Videl was hot on his trail, jumping on his back to keep him down. Billy did crash to the floor, but Videl's weight wasn't enough to keep him down. Pushing himself up and slashing blindly, Billy forced Videl off him.

Videl let out a yell in pain, grabbing towards her shoulder. There was blood flowing freely from a wound he had inflicted. It was unlike anything Videl had ever experienced; she had never before been cut.

Billy was nearly at the door when Hercule was suddenly in front of him, looking furious. Before Billy could even raise his knife in defense, Hercule punched him in the abdomen and followed it up with a knee to the face. The combination was fast and simple, but powerful enough to immediately knock the younger fighter out and sprayed him out on the floor.

"**The last we saw of**** Billy afterwards was when we ****were ****summoned to court to testify against him. He was proven guilty on all charges, with five cases of murder and ten cases of excessive violence after his attempt to flee the gym." Videl concluded. "I've never seen my dad that furious."**

XxX

As they neared the Son residence, Videl suddenly saw another, unknown Jetcopter already parked near the Son's home. It was a newer model, unlike any Videl had ever seen, but bore the Capsule Corporation Logo. As soon as they neared the home, the pilot made himself known: the small, black-haired form of Krillin rushed out of the house as soon as the copter's approach was heard.

Videl and Erasa were ordered into the house, while Krillin and Sharpener began unloading the copter. Staying behind for a bit before dragging Gohan inside, Yamcha took the chance to talk to Krillin.

"What's with the copter? And where's Goten, I don't think he needs to see his brother like this."

"I brought Goten over to Trunks as soon as I got here, told him it's a surprise slumber party. After I explained what happened to Bulma she gave me that new copter to cover my sudden appearance here. It's a new model and can fly almost twice as fast as Videl's."

"Okay; nice thinking." Yamcha said, realizing that Krillin and Bulma had not only covered Gohan, but the very existence of their super-powers with that little maneuver.

"When we're inside, let me do the talking for the most part." Krillin whispered as Sharpener returned for a second load of bags. "I've already thought of a cover story that isn't too far from the truth, so just stick with what I say."

"Gotcha. Now let's get him inside." With another grunt, Yamcha lifted Gohan over his shoulder again. During the nearly two-hour flight in which Videl and Erasa had been talking excessively, Gohan stayed curled up like he had been inside the store: face buried in his knees and muttering to himself.

"Ok, that's all of it." Krillin said as he placed the last bags on the floor. "What happened? It's been a really long time since I've seen Gohan this distressed."

"There was a robbery when we were in a store." Videl replied, her temper suddenly flaring up. During the trip she had been too busy thinking about Billy being revealed as a criminal as she told the story to Yamcha and a not-listening Gohan, but thinking back had made one thing very clear: Billy had been a very skilled fighter two years ago. And based on his appearance he hadn't been slouching in prison either. How was it that Gohan could so easily defeat him?

"All of a sudden Gohan stood up and started beating the robbers up. He defeated seven men, one of which was an old student of my father's, without any problems whatsoever. What the hell is going on, since when did Gohan become a fighter of any capacity at all, let alone such an insanely good one? What more has he been hiding?"

Before Krillin or Chichi could answer, Gohan seemed to snap out of his shock. Without a word, looking as white as a ghost, he looked around the room once and ran out the front door, sheer terror on his face.

Krillin stood up to go after him, but before he had even pulled his seat back, Sharpener was already out the door, going after his friend with concern clear on his face. With a sigh, seeing Videl glare at him for answers, Krillin sat back down.

"Was that all that happened?" Krillin asked, looking Videl straight in the eye.

"Pretty much,"

"Did any of the robbers do anything to you or someone else in the store?" Although it was asked like a question, Krillin already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Erasa replied before Videl could say anything. "Videl was standing in her bra because she was trying on a new shirt and one of the robbers was going to cut it off, while B… their boss cut open my shirt and bra." Her voice was surprisingly steady, considering the fact that she had just escaped a near-rape experience.

"That explains it…" Krillin said, leaning his head on his hands for a second. Then he raised his head again and looked at the two girls.

"What do you guys know about Gohan's past? About what happened to him before he went to Orange Star High?"

The simple question served only to increase Videl's fury: she knew next to nothing about Gohan's past, he had never revealed more then being from a family of fighters.

"Hardly anything;" Videl finally said, grinding her teeth together. "Gohan hardly ever spoke of his personal life. The only thing he ever told us was that his father was a fighter and so he grew up fighting. We didn't even know he was the son of Goku until Chichi showed us a picture."

"I thought so. Gohan doesn't like to talk about his past, it hurts him when he does." It was more muttered then spoken, but Videl didn't miss it. Krillin raised his head again and looked directly at the two teens. "Grab a chair and sit down, I'm going to tell you a story about Gohan that'll last a while."

XxX

Sharpener dashed out of the forest. Thankfully Gohan hadn't used his super speed to get away, so the blond had been able to follow him. He had been running after Gohan for the better part of half an hour now, and he was breathing heavily.

Looking around, Sharpener saw that Gohan had stopped running around and was now sitting down, looking down at a village. Taking a second to catch his breath, Sharpener also looked around. They had been running uphill for a while now and Sharpener could see why. They had reached the op of a hill that overlooked a beautiful green valley. In the centre of the valley was a small village. It looked exactly like a small village in a fairytale or fantasy story. It was one of the most peaceful sights Sharpener had ever seen.

Sharpener walked over to Gohan, who looked up with surprise. His face was still far too white to be healthy, but at least he didn't have a look of pure terror anymore. Not saying a word, Sharpener sat down next to Gohan, taking in the sight of the valley down below.

XxX

"Before you start I want you to tell me something else." Videl's arms were crossed as she glared at Krillin. The monk looked at her, so she spoke up again. "How long has Gohan been boxing? Back in the store, he was using boxing combinations to beat him silly before finishing it off with some acrobatic maneuver."

"Boxing?" Krillin was now looking surprised. Like they had agreed, Yamcha was silent, instead helping Chichi out in the house. "I've never heard of him doing boxing, are you sure you saw it correctly?"

"Positive. He was pulling of those combinations like he'd been doing it forever. Even Sharpener's never pulled those combos off that smoothly."

"Well, like I said I don't know if Gohan ever did any boxing until he met you. While we were waiting, Sharpener told me that he had been training with Gohan. That's probably where he picked those moves up."

"That's impossible!" Videl nearly shouted. Before she could continue explaining why, Krillin raised his hand to silence her.

"Videl, how would you react if I tell you that Gohan is – beyond the shadow of a doubt – the single most talented warrior the world has ever known?"

"Wha…" Videl was surprised by the sudden question. She had expected a lot, but not that.

"It's true; in all my years as a martial artist I've never seen nor heard of a talent like Gohan's ever existing. But in case you're wondering why he never showed his abilities before: Gohan has an intense disliking of combat. In all his previous fights, something bad happened whenever he fought, he's afraid of his own power. Gohan still considers himself responsible for the death of his father all those years ago, but there's more."

Krillin took a dramatic second's pause to let the information sink in.

"Once, about three years ago, Gohan did something very similar to what happened today. A very good friend of his got hurt in front of his eyes… and he went berserk because of it."

* * *

Thanks as always to my beta Kushin-eX for going over this massive chapter.

Please leave a review telling me what you think.


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ-universe or anything related to it, just borrowing it for some fun.

Import note: This is a link to the enquiry for my research I told everyone about last chapter.

http:(slash)(slash)www(dot)studentenenquete(dot)nl(slash)vragen(slash)index(dot)php?sid=49199&lang=en

to follow it, copy it into your webbrowser and replace the things in the parenthesis with the normal sign. So (dot) = . I'd like to ask you all to fill it in, it should take about 15 minutes. Thanks in advance for filling it out everyone.

* * *

"Gohan? Going berserk?" Videl asked. "Before today I would have declared you mental. But now I'm interested, so what happened?"

"Take it easy; let me start at the beginning." Krillin chuckled, his mind racing about how to tell Gohan's story without letting any of the secrets – Saiyans, interplanetary journeys, energy and lots more – slip out. "I suppose you could say it all started when Gohan was five. Goku's older brother appeared and for one reason or another, he had a problem with Goku, so he kidnapped Gohan to try and get Goku to obey him. Goku alone couldn't defeat him, even though he was the world champion – Goku's brother had no interest in tournaments, but he was more experienced and much stronger then Goku – so Goku had to team up with Piccolo to defeat him."

Krillin paused for a second to let the information sink in.

"Even then it was a close fight, because Raditz – that's the name of Goku's brother – was just so much faster. He was torturing Goku for fun when Gohan's fury first exploded. Despite being a five-year old, his anger at seeing his father tormented unleashed the potential he had for fighting. He was the first to strike a serious blow to Raditz, giving Goku and Piccolo an opening to attack again. Of course he was still a five-year old, so he was knocked out a few seconds later. Thing is, the last thing he saw was his father getting killed. Or at least, that's what he thought he saw."

At this, both girls let out a gasp. Chichi set out some drinks for the girls, but their attention was now completely on the short monk's story.

"In truth, Goku was hurt badly, but he didn't die. Gohan never knew because he was kidnapped again. Piccolo had taken him to teach him how to fight, realizing his enormous potential. Since then Gohan grew out to be one of the best fighters I've ever know, but we've always handed him too much responsibility; when he was seven, we depended on him to fight one of the strongest fighters in Raditz's organization, risking his life in the fight. Since he was a boy, we've been treating him like an adult because of his fighting ability, because we needed him more then anyone else. By the time he was seven, only Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo were stronger fighters then him. By age eleven, he'd surpassed everyone; only to see his father die for real."

"What?" This time it was Erasa that let out a horrified Squeal. "That all sounds… pretty heavy."

"It is. And once everything settled down, we always wondered about how Gohan handled everything without suffering any sort of damage. He saw his dad killed twice, but he was still a little ray of sunshine when Goten was born. Of course, it probably helped that he had a really good friend in Lime. They met about seven years ago and were best friends up until three years ago. She looked young and small when they first met, but she was actually a bit older then him and before long the two of them were completely inseparable. We all watched as they grew as teenagers, Gohan becoming the person you know, Lime growing into a fine young woman. She wouldn't win any beauty contests, but she wasn't ugly, a really nice girl, plump but it suited her. We were all sure that the two of them would end up living happily ever after."

As Krillin told the story, he didn't notice the quick flash of annoyance and jealousy that spread across Videl's face. As evidenced by the corners of her mouth lifting slightly, Chichi had also noticed it.

"But they didn't. Three years ago, all hell broke loose around here."

XxX

Sharpener and Gohan sat in silence, looking at the valley down below. Sharpener had arrived almost ten minutes ago and in those ten minutes, the only sounds that were made by the two were the ones that couldn't be avoided when you changed position. Gohan had visibly relaxed a bit, now sitting with one leg extended and supporting himself with his arms, while Sharpener had decided to take it easy and lay on his belly, a long weed of grass in between his teeth.

The silence between the two of them was calming, not like what Gohan had expected. But despite that – or maybe because of it – he couldn't help but think back on what happened that day, three years ago.

XxX

**Three years ago, two weeks after Lime's sixteenth birthday**

"Come on Goten, let me go!" A blond Gohan with green eyes was pleading with his little brother. Gohan was not very tall for his age, although he had recently started a growth spurt, but this only made his broad shoulders stand out that much more. He kept his hair short ever since he first transformed into a Super-Saiyan; if he let it grow longer, it got in the way of his transformation, not to mention it looked ridiculous to boot. Ever since Gohan had fought and obliterated Bojack and his men – half a year after Cell was killed by the boy – Gohan had returned to being a permanent Super Saiyan.

And currently, Goten was having the strongest deathgrip his three-year old arms could get on his older brother's legs.

"Come on, let me go I'm going to be late." The teen plead with his brother. The toddler only shook his head and looked up with puppy-dog eyes.

"B-but, big-b-brother," Goten started, his usual stutter still in his voice, "Whenever y-you go and meet with L-Lime, you stay away the WHOLE day!" Not thinking, Goten spread his arms to indicate how long a time the whole day was. Gohan didn't miss his chance, grabbing his little brother under the arms and lifting him.

"Ah, don't worry about it Goten, I'll be back before you know it. And didn't Mom say she wanted you to get started on writing today? You'll be plenty busy without me around."

"B-but… I d-don't like homework."

"I didn't either, but it's the only way you'll grow up to be a big and smart man." Gohan said, nearly quoting his mother on one of her many 'study-is-important' speeches.

"Glad to hear you say that Gohan." Chichi said, standing in the doorway and smiling at her two sons. "And you're definitely right. Come on Goten, if you can finish the alphabet before lunchtime, you can help me bake some cookies for you and your brother."

This form of bribery immediately made the Goku-clone grin like mad. Like his father, Goten could always be bribed with food. Chichi walked over and took Goten from Gohan's arms.

"See you tonight, give Lime my love." She said, pecking Gohan on the cheek.

A second later, Gohan had already taken to the skies and was going towards Lime's house. By now, the villagers knew Gohan well enough to not be surprised by his flying around or doing seemingly-impossible displays of power, so they wouldn't be too surprised if Gohan suddenly landed in the middle of the village. As he flew, his mind drifted back to two days ago, when he had met with Lime for the last time. Yesterday had been a day at work, helping Bulma and the others at the Research and Development Department with one project or the other.

The last time they had met, Lime had expressed her curiosity at kissing to the Super Saiyan. Since he shared the feeling, they had kissed each other. And liking the feeling, they had spent most of the day continuing it, even trying alternatives, like having Gohan float the two of them upside down. The overall conclusion was that they both REALLY liked kissing.

'_Who knows… we might just try it some more today._' Gohan thought, feeling giddy at the prospect. His imagination running wild with new ways for the two of them to try out the mouth-to-mouth contact, Gohan landed just outside of the village and continued to walk. He could just fly over to Lime's house, but he liked the short walk, socializing with everyone in the village.

However, before he had even taken three steps, he realized something was wrong. Because he flew over, the entire village could always see him coming and usually at least a few people came over to greet him. And even if they didn't, at this time of day the street he was walking on should be busy with people doing whatever it was they were doing.

There was no-one on the street.

Gohan looked around, suddenly noticing other things that were different from normal. A smashed in window, overturned trashcans and other signs of small destruction and violence. Turning his head around, Gohan suddenly noticed a motorcycle that was parked in a side street. The way it was parked ensured no-one else could drive through the street.

Looking closer, the Saiyan noticed several other motorcycles parked, each of them painted, stickered or otherwise customized to look dangerous. And they all bore a picture of a trio of blades pointing away from each other.

Before Gohan could start to think about what was going on, a scream was emitted from the other side of the street. Gohan looked over, horrified at what he saw.

XxX

**Present day, Son residence**

"It was Lime's sixteenth birthday, so we all met up at Bulma's and then flew over to this place. When we arrived, Chichi told us that we just missed Gohan and that he already went ahead. So, all of us went to the village as well, taking a stroll through the forest to get there. We couldn't have arrived there more then ten minutes after Gohan had, but we immediately noticed that something was up. The place was in ruins, no-one was about on the streets, motorcycles were parked all over the place and they all bore the same sign. A biker gang had shown up at the small and defenseless village and started to raid it for some reason. We never did really find out why. But as soon as we knew that, we rushed into the village to find Gohan and anyone else that was involved. Unfortunately, we were too late."

Most of that was, of course, a lie. In truth, all of the Z-fighters had sensed Gohan's sudden spiking of energy and mental distress and rushed over as quickly as they could. Even Tien, who was the furthest away from Lime's village, had arrived in less then a minute.

XxX

**3 years ago, Lime's village.**

'What's going on here?' Gohan's mind was racing as he dashed through the village, looking left and right while moving just below sonic speeds. A sonic boom inside the village would rip the entire place to shreds, not something he wanted to do. As he passed a corner, he suddenly noticed three large figures looming over something on the ground. They all wore jackets with the same triple-blade symbol on the back. One of the three swung his arm back, revealing a thick and heavy iron chain he was using as a whip, and swung it to hit whatever it was that the three were looming over.

Gohan had disarmed him and his two companions before he was even halfway through his swing. The trio suddenly found themselves lying face-up in the street as Gohan bend over the man they had surrounded. It took Gohan a second to recognize the man through his injuries as the person in the grocery shop Gohan always visited.

"Hey, what's going on? What happened, where is everyone?" Gohan said, crouching down next to the beat up man, but there was no response: the man had passed out because of his injuries. The three bikers stood up, looking surprised at what happened, but they picked up their weapons before turning to Gohan. For his part, Gohan noticed the three bikers getting up and picking up their weapons, but it didn't worry him at all. No-one present in the village could do anything close to hurting him. Instead, Gohan felt a surge of anger coursing through him, the same anger that had possessed him when he faced off against Cell.

Gohan turned to the three men, struggling to keep control of his anger, barely stopping himself from transforming to the second level as he glared at the three villains. His glare was filled with the anger, hatred and desire to kill that he felt, paralyzing them in place. Like with most amateurs they didn't know what was happening to them, but their bodies started shaking as Gohan glared them, before he let out a single energy-filled shout and sent them crashing into the wall behind them, knocked out before they were even halfway.

"LIME!" Gohan shouted, suddenly fearful of what would happen at her house. Ignoring all caution, Gohan dashed over as fast as he could, already at the house before his after-image near the grocery-man had vanished. He opened the door to Lime's house and was instantly horrified by what he saw.

In less then the split second it took for the sonic boom to catch up with him, Gohan saw the scene before him in more detail then he had ever cared for; not for the first time, he cursed his warrior-training that allowed him to see, process and think much faster then any other human.

There were twelve bikers standing around in Lime's living room, some of them still holding small weapons like knives, pipes, chains and even one who was holding a gun, and most of them had their pants open, or discarded them altogether.

But it was the sight in the centre of the room that really caught his gaze and horrified him. Their clothes torn apart, their similar red hair spread wide across the ground as they cried and begged, were Lime and her mother, each covered by a biker lying on top of them. The others were waiting their turn, not even noticing that Gohan had entered until the wall behind the teenager exploded.

As the sonic boom tore the front of the house to shreds, more anger coursing through his body then ever before, everything Gohan saw was suddenly bright red.

XxX

**Present day, Son Residence**

"WHAAAT!?" both young woman shouted loud, Videl standing up in disgust and anger while Erasa covered her mouth with both hands in horror.

"Yeah." Krillin confirmed, now walking around the house as he talked. "Gohan walked in to most of the bikers gang-raping Lime and her mother. At the time, Lime was the only young woman in the village; all the others were either children, or nearing or above forty. Most people in-between had left the village for work or studies. And apparently, the bikers thought that Lime's mother was attractive enough to be 'joining in.'" Disgust was almost palpable from the small man, even though he now stood with his back towards the girls.

"By the time we all got there, not even two minutes had passed since Gohan walked into the room, but it was almost too late. Gohan had gone into a blind rage at what he saw. All of the gang's members lay spread across the floor, beaten up by Gohan, an inch from death for most of them. And Gohan was still sitting atop one of them, the one who had been… the one who had been raping Lime as he came in. That…" Krillin searched for a word for a second before deciding on one, "That rapist was already out cold, but Gohan kept punching him again and again and again, screaming all the while, seething with hatred."

Videl sat back down, almost unable to think of Gohan being able to do something like that. Next to her; Erasa reapplied the pressure that her hands were keeping on her mouth as she thought of what had happened.

"We pulled Gohan off of him, but Gohan was blinded by his rage. It took all of us to get him off of that fucker and stop him from killing him."

Yamcha and Chichi shared a pained look with Krillin as they thought back. It had only been a half lie; it had taken all of their combined efforts to get Gohan off of the thugs.

XxX

**Three years ago, Lime's House**

"-own, Go-" There was a voice sounding nearby, but Gohan couldn't quite hear it. "-en to m-"

"-mnit br-" A second voice sounded.

Something was holding his arm back, but it barely registered in Gohan's mind.

"-on't do this!" the first voice was back again and now there was pressure on his other arm, until a third voice shouted in his ear.

"STOP IT GOHAN!"

Gohan finally recognized the voice as Piccolo's, shouting at him in fear. Snapping out of his almost trance-like state, Gohan suddenly noticed what it was that was holding him back: Vegeta and Piccolo were struggling to hold Gohan down, sweat and blood pouring down them as Gohan kept struggling for a second. Somehow, both of them had gotten numerous small cuts that were bleeding heavily.

But Gohan's head was also very difficult to move, even though no-one was holding it.

The answer was literally standing right in front of him; Chiaotzu had combined his powers with Piccolo and Vegeta, using his telekinesis to keep Gohan down as much as he could. Krillin's voice, Vegeta's cursing and Piccolo's shouting were enough to snap him out of bloodlust, but it didn't release his anger yet.

"Where are they!?" Was the first thing that left his mouth.

"Gohan, BREATH!" Piccolo ordered him. Years of disciplining with the green-skinned master had made it a near reflex to obey the Namek's commands. Gohan took seven deep gulps of breath, calming him down significantly.

Still being held down by Vegeta, Piccolo and Chiaotzu, Gohan slowly managed to look around the room. The other Z-fighters had all gathered there, although Yamcha and Tien were clutching their sides in pain and #18 had trouble getting back up from the place where she created a new hole in the wall. Lime and her parents were sitting in the middle of the room, Piccolo's cape wrapped around them to keep their bodies from sight. Even so, Gohan could clearly see that they were completely covered in red. Just like the walls behind them.

In fact, Gohan realized, the entire house was painted red, with stubs and other imperfections everywhere.

It took a full five seconds for Gohan to realize that it wasn't paint or imperfections. Then it suddenly came back to him; he'd lost himself in rage and attacked as the wall behind him exploded. The debris had stabbed every biker somehow, but Gohan didn't pay attention. He punched and kicked, grabbed and crunched each of the bikers in the room until they were all dead. And none of them had died nice and cleanly; in his rage and sudden bloodlust, Gohan had torn their bodies apart, crushed skulls and chests, punched through their guts and kicked them so hard that the bones erupted out of the back of his victim.

But worst off was the man who had been raping Lime as he walked in: Gohan had broken both his arms and legs, crushed his knees and elbows, tore off his limbs and then fired an energy-blast into his mouth as he screamed in pain.

All that had remained of the man were the limbs that now lain on the ground. The rest of him was now decorating the walls.

"You struck him first." Vegeta suddenly said, releasing his grip as Gohan relaxed. "And worse; you killed him before going after the others."

Gohan nodded, feeling sick with himself but unable to do anything about it. Slowly his eyes moved over to Lime, wishing to make sure that she was alright. But the moment his eyes made contact with hers, he wished he had never looked at her.

Her eyes were full of pure, unadulterated fear of the young man who now lay on the floor.

XxX

**Present day, Son Residence.**

"Lime and her parents had moved out two weeks later, not telling anything to anyone. They didn't tell anyone they were moving, or where to." Krillin concluded. "Everyone in the village was shocked by what had happened, but for the most part they had material damage that was easily restored. But Lime and her family had suffered much more then that. Gohan… he took the hint that she didn't want him to know where she was going. Ever since the raping – and Gohan's consequent beating of the rapists – she hadn't spoken a word to him. It probably had something to do with how badly Gohan had beaten them all up; out of all of them, only three were able to return to a normal life."

This wasn't even a lie. The first three that Gohan had only knocked out managed to return to perfectly normal lives… in prison.

"When he was so pissed, Gohan had kept aiming for all kinds of weaknesses; joints, faces, critical areas, a bone's weaker places, Gohan hit everything he could hit and hit it hard. The result was that they all had permanent injuries. And if we hadn't pulled Gohan off of that one bastard… I don't think he would have stopped in time."

"How on earth did he not get in trouble with the police or something?" Erasa gasped.

"As soon as Bulma caught wind of what happened, she made sure nothing ever got out. It does help when the world's most powerful woman is your godmother." Krillin simply said. "And before you say anything," he quickly added, seeing Videl was getting worked up, "Gohan had nothing to do with it, she acted while Gohan was still in shock and detest of what he had done."

Two gasps of surprise escaped and Krillin immediately turned around, surprising the two girls and reclaiming their attention.

"But remember this; I'm not telling you this to scare you away from Gohan, but so you can understand why it is that he's so scared of his own power. He's strong enough to kill a man, but like you know, Gohan's a peaceful person. He doesn't like fighting or violence, but he's very capable of it. Since that day, Gohan stopped training of all sorts and abandoned any form of martial arts, because he was afraid that he might kill someone. And if I'm allowed to make a guess, I'm willing to bet that right now, Gohan is more worried about you guys maybe hating him, or leaving him for what he did. Because, no matter how he may appear; Gohan is very uncertain about himself, always doubting everything about himself. All that I ask of you two is that you don't judge just on what I've told, or what you saw at the shop. Gohan is and will always remain Gohan; you just know one more thing about him now."

XxX

It was almost nightfall by the time Sharpener and Gohan returned to the Son home. Krillin and Yamcha were still around, but they were both stunned and dumbfounded at the way Gohan returned. He was a long way from laughing, but Gohan and Sharpener walked side-by-side, chatting all the while. As soon as they saw them approaching, Videl and Erasa dashed from the house and, in an impulsive act of displaying affection, both jumped and hugged the tall saiyan.

A few seconds later, Videl seemed to realize what she was doing and jumped back, quickly re-assuming her composed manner. Erasa, however, had no problems displaying her affection for the tall warrior. If anything, she hugged him tighter, making sure he knew that she still cared a lot about him.

During this rather touching scene, Krillin quickly ran to Sharpener and addressed him.

"How on Earth did you get him to get out of it? What did you say to him, it took me weeks of talking into him the last time he went into a depression."

Sharpener kept his eyes on the display as well, not missing Videl's blush at the hug with Gohan, as he spoke.

"I didn't say anything. I was just there for him, and that was all he needed. Sometimes, Talking is overrated."

Finally, Erasa let go of Gohan, a smile still on her face.

"That reminds me Gohan." She suddenly said. "We never thanked you for saving us, back in the shop. So…" Erasa quickly shot forward and gave Gohan a peck on the check, giggling as she did so. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thanks." Videl agreed, stiffly holding out her hand to shake Gohan's, not sure how much affection to show. As they all turned around, returning to the house, Videl suddenly grabbed hold of Gohan's sleeve.

"Hey Gohan…" She started, her eyes glancing everywhere but at him. "I know this is probably a bad thing to ask, since you hate fighting and all, but…" Suddenly her eyes shut up, locking unto Gohan's dark orbs. "Do you think we could spar, just once?"

* * *

As always much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave a review telling me what you thought.

Much thanks to for letting me know the link didn't work, i corrected it.


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: same as previous chapters, I still don't own the DBZ universe.

IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ: Like I said in the last two chapters, I'm working on a research and would like everyone who reads this to follow this link

http:(slash)(slash)www(dot)studentenenquete(dot)nl(slash)vragen(slash)?sid=49199〈=en

and fill out the enquiry, it will help out the research quite a bit and you'll have my big thanks.

Thanks to any- and everyone who's already filled it in. and like before, remove all the parenthesis and replace it with what it says. (slash) = / etc

XXXxxxXXXxxx

"You want to spar with me?" Gohan asked, doubt in his voice.

"Yeah, I know you don't like to fight, both you and Krillin made that much obvious, but I'm really curious about how I measure up against you. You were very impressive when you fought Billy and those others off, especially since you haven't trained for so long. Please, just this one fight, I'll never ask you for another match again, ok?"

"Ehm, I'd rather not fight with you Videl, I might hurt you or something."

"Do it Gohan." Sharpener suddenly said as Krillin and Yamcha exchanged looks. "Your save enough when sparring with me, as long as there's nothing to upset you, you can stay in control perfectly well."

"Krillin, Yamcha, surely you'll stay around for dinner right? I mean, if you leave now it'll be so late before your home." Chichi suddenly said, giving the two senior fighters a significant look.

"Sure." They both said, instantly catching her meaning. Videl would not let up until Gohan agreed to fight with her, and Chichi wanted the other super-warriors around in case something went wrong.

"Alright Videl, we can have a spar if you so insist." Gohan finally relented, having been stared down by the small girl. At once Videl backed up and got into a fighting stance, a satisfied smile on her face.

Gohan took a few steps away from his friends so they wouldn't be caught up in the match, before looking directly at Videl and nodding. At once Videl shot forward, her fist drawn back before flying towards Gohan's nose.

Unfortunately for the daughter of Hercule, Gohan easily stepped aside to evade the punch and leaned his head back a little, also avoiding her follow-up elbow blow. Using the momentum gained from throwing her arm back, Videl whipped her body around and lashed her leg out at him, but Gohan's own arm shot up and easily intercepted her kick before it was even halfway.

Pushing the leg back to throw Videl off-balance, Gohan took a few steps back to gain some distance again. Recovering quickly, Videl realized that her preferred opening move had just been read and countered perfectly, something she had thought to be impossible. Quickly closing the distance once again, Videl suddenly kicked her leg up as quickly as she could, but Gohan merely stepped back with one foot and turned his body. Again, Videl's attack hit nothing but air.

Her three follow-up punches, double kicks and finishing spinkick – a combination which had taken out more then a fair share of Videl's opponents – were all equally neutralized. Every single attack that Videl tried, Gohan easily predicted and evaded with minimal movement, or when he couldn't evade it, he caught or deflected the attack. By doing so, Gohan created many perfect chances to counter Videl's assault, but he never did.

It also pissed Videl off more then she would have thought. This was Gohan, sweet, adorable, clumsy and smart Gohan that she couldn't hit no matter what she tried. And worst of all, he wasn't even fighting back. That was what really pissed Videl off; she hated being toyed with.

"Gohan, get serious already. Don't just toy around with me, I asked you to fight with me, not dance." She yelled, her anger starting to get the better of her. Gohan didn't react at all, only taking a few steps back to create distance once more. Getting more pissed by the second, Videl charged forward again, jumping up some distance before she reached Gohan.

Yet her flying kick met with the same results as her other attacks, passing harmlessly passed the large male. He ducked under her spinkick, rolled to the side to evade her following high-kick and even her summersault-to-dashing-punch was stopped in it's tracks by Gohan's larger hands and far superior weight.

"Will you stop running away and fight like a man, you pathetic coward!" Videl lashed out, now completely losing herself in her rage. No-one she had ever fought before made her feel so weak, so… pathetic. It infuriated her beyond anything even she had ever expected.

Apparently this insult did have some impact, because Gohan suddenly stopped moving, his shoulders tightening. Too locked in rage, Videl continued her verbal assault, hoping to do with words what her fists couldn't.

"Come on then, show me what you got. For someone who's a super-genius, you don't show anything in your fighting, you're just a big wimp."

It was the last insult Videl added that seemed to have an effect, Gohan hadn't been fazed at all by her jabs at his ability to fight, but when she insulted him in person, Gohan turned around and looked at Videl, a glare on his face.

The glare was strong enough to make Videl immediately shut up, drop into a defensive stance and take a few steps back before she even knew what she was doing. At the side of the battlefield, Yamcha and Krillin tensed up, quickly raising their powerlevels without alerting anyone in their surroundings in case it was needed for them to interfere. Sharpener also tensed up, while Erasa looked surprised at what she saw.

"Hey, Mr. Krillin?" She addressed him because he obviously knew a lot about fighting and Erasa had come to like and trust him, because of the story he had told them. "What's going on? I don't know much about fighting, but why is Vi backing off like that?"

"Gohan is about to go on the offensive." Yamcha said, standing on the blonde's other side. "Videl is forced to back off because of the pressure that Gohan is giving off."

"What pressure?"

"Every fighter knows about pressure." Sharpener quickly explained, knowing that Erasa had never experienced it. "It's a feeling you have of someone overpowering you whenever your cornered. It's pretty much your opponent's non-verbal communication, which causes an instinctivereaction. In most cases it might make you more cautious, sometimes making you second-guess yourself. In a worse case scenario… you overpower your opponent so much that they break, losing their ability to stay in control while fighting."

"Good explanation." Yamcha said. "You may also know it under any of it's other names; Bloodlust, or Killing Intent. They're all names for the same thing; the ability to intimidate your opponent with non-verbal communication in the middle of a fight, determined mostly by your mindset. But pay attention, this is about to end."

Immediately Erasa turned back to the spar to see that Videl had backed up considerably, but the distance between her and Gohan had remained the same. Videl kept taking two small steps back, remaining in a defensive stance, while Gohan would just take one of his normal strides and glare at her, not even keeping his guard up, to close the distance again. By now, Videl was nearly backed out of the clearing.

While Videl was trying to take another step back, sweating heavily and breathing hard without knowing why, Gohan suddenly dashed forward. Before the teenage girl had time to react, even from her defensive position, Gohan was upon her and slammed her outstretched arm into her chest. The blunt attack had enough force to spin the petit girl around completely, making her land on her back after a 540-degree spin in the air, looking up at the sky. Until the sky was suddenly blocked out by Gohan's boot appearing above her.

Gohan slammed his foot into the ground just next to Videl's head, still looking thoroughly pissed.

"The spar is over." He announced, his tone leaving no room for arguments as Gohan was also taking deep steadying breaths, and stepped back from Videl, turning towards the house. As Erasa and Sharpener stepped forward to help Videl to her feet, both Krillin and Yamcha let out a breath of relief. Reaching the door to the house, Gohan took a few deep, steadying breaths to relax his body and returned to his normal self before entering.

XxX

Completely captivated by her thoughts, Videl's eyes were set to infinity as she gazed at the horizon, almost not seeing the beautiful sight of the setting sun. Some time after dinner, the proud fighter had left the house for a late jog, eventually ending up on a hill just before a slope, allowing her a very impressive view, looking down at the almost endless forest at her feet, the trees tinged with pink and red from the light of the setting sun.

For at least half an hour now, Videl had been lost on a subject she had never really dwelled on before; her own power. Up until a few months ago, Videl had very rarely known defeat. Sure, some of her father's students were stronger then her, but more often then not, it was because they were also much older then she was. In recent years that had changed because Videl's body reached maturity. But never before had she been on such a losing streak as the last few months.

First there was her fight with Alpha-4, a man she had never heard off and still didn't know his real identity – there were no reports of a high-level fighter from China suddenly disappearing just after the kidnapping, so she couldn't find him out like that – and she had defeated him but it was one of the toughest fights she could remember.

Then there was the matter of her embarrassing defeat at the hands of Mick Johnson. A grand total of three punches as she was out of it. Sure, she hadn't expected the attack, but that was another mistake on her part. And the fight he had with the Commander showed that Johnson definitely could have taken her in a one-on-one fight. She didn't even dwell on the obvious gap of ability between herself and Capsule Corporation's own, private super-soldier.

She didn't even want to think about the androids. She had fought against #1, the weakest android, one she later learned had a really predictable attack pattern, and only barely managed to win. All things considered, she probably only won because his orders were to torment her as much as possible to terrorize everyone around. If it hadn't been for Saiyaman's timely interference against the other androids… Videl didn't want to think about it.

But the worst of it all, to Videl's ego, was the defeat by Gohan. Here she fought against someone she thought she knew, a reliable friend and kind soul, but he had shown himself as a powerful fighter, more overwhelming then anyone she had encountered. He'd scared her enough to make her step back in fear! Him! The nice guy of the group had scared the crime fighter into backing of like a child facing it's mother after breaking an important rule.

"You know, if you keep frowning like that your skin is going to get wrinkled early." A voice suddenly said from behind Videl. Shocked at being snuck up on, Videl shot up and turned around to see who it was. Chichi stood at the foot of the hill, a worried smile on her face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." The Son matron immediately apologized. "At dinner you looked really out of it, I was worried if you were alright. Can I join you, or would you prefer to be alone?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to worry you." Videl quickly said, "Your welcome to join me, but I'm not sure if I'll be pleasant company right now. I'm kind of losing myself to my thoughts."

"I know what that can be like." Chichi said as she sat down and straightened her skirt. "It's about Gohan, isn't it?"

"Yes, but it's not just about him." Videl admitted after a second, turning to look at Chichi. The older woman returned her look, both understanding that everything said now would forever remain between them. "I was thinking about my own strength. I've always thought of myself as one of the strongest fighters alive, but these past months I've been shown that I was wrong."

"I know how odd it feels, to suddenly have your entire world prove itself wrong, all your expectations thrown out the window." Chichi sympathized. "It takes a lot of getting used to, but eventually you'll stop worrying about it."

"Maybe, but just how strong am I?" This caught Chichi's attention, even while Videl turned her eyes towards the heavens. "And how strong is everyone else that I know? I can accept that I'm not the strongest around, but there's such a huge difference between myself and others like Johnson, or Krillin, or… or..."

"Or Gohan." Chichi added. "Your right, there is a large difference between yourself and Krillin, or Gohan, but you're talking about two of the strongest, most talented and experienced fighters that I know. With maybe two exceptions that I know off, those two are in a league of their own."

"But it's not just the difference in power between them and me." Videl immediately argued, her feelings rushing to the surface unexpectedly. She didn't even try to stop them as she raised her voice a bit, making arm-gestures to emphasize her speech. "I was surprised by just how easily Gohan defeated me this afternoon, but the biggest surprise was how he fought in the shop. He was clearly holding back against me, not even trying to counter my attacks even though he could have, but when he was fighting Billy and those other guys… he was different. Just like how Krillin was when he fought against those two androids."

"What do you mean, different?"

"When Krillin fought against android's #2 and #3, he hit areas that on a normal human would have broken bones, or trashed organs. He misguided his opponent, so he became invisible to him for a few seconds, enough time for him to deal a finishing blow. I've never thought anyone could so precisely attack the critical area's, most fighters I know learn to strike a few of them and avoid most others. But then, in the clothing store, Gohan he… he attacked nothing but those weaknesses, even going so far as to maneuver himself to let two of those guys shooting each other down. And when he held up Billy, and he was trashing him… I've never seen anyone who could change themselves so much, like they don't even care about what happens to their opponents."

"That's probably because they had to learn to be vicious." Chichi supplied, earning Videl's immediate attention. "You have to understand that Krillin, as well as Yamcha and, when he was still alive, Goku all had to learn to fight for their lives. Literally. They didn't learn the ways of combat in a save protection like a learning hall, or a sports competition. They didn't fight battles where the worst thing that could happen is a three-week hospital visit and a loss in a tournament. Instead, they had to learn to fight by surviving battles against enemies that really tried to kill them. And when your enemy tries to kill you, you'd have to be pretty stupid to not hurt them in return. Gohan just picked that habit up from his teachers."

"I'm almost envious of it," Videl said after a second, but there was no conviction in her voice, "if they can seal themselves off like that. For the past month or so, I've felt really horrible about myself, ever since I've had to kill that android I fought. I know he wasn't a human, I felt with my own hands that he was made of metal and wires instead of flesh and blood, but even so… I've felt like I'd killed another human, he looked so… so real. It makes me wish I'd be able to detach myself like that, not caring about what happens to my enemies."

"Maybe you do, it's a very handy skill for when you're in a tough fight. As you know, an intention may make all the difference in a fight of equals. If you fight to prevent anyone – including your opponent – from getting hurt, while he's trying to kill you… you'd have to be much, much more powerful to make it work. Otherwise you're asking for an early ticket to the grave. And I don't think you'd want that honey." Chichi also stood, looking at Videl's back as the Satan girl looked over at the forest down below, the last glows of red over the horizon illuminating her tense form.

"Maybe you're right…" Videl said, her voice full of doubt, "but I don't think I'd want to. I'm…not sure if I want to be able to hurt someone, maybe even kill them, without any hesitation. I'm not sure if I want to become as dangerous as someone like the Commander, or Johnson, or a million other murderers that are all over the world."

"I know, dear, I know." The Son matron said, suddenly losing herself in her thoughts, the concerns she'd always felt for Gohan as he grew up with blood on his hands and extreme responsibility on his shoulders returning to her. "But you have to understand that at one point, you might run into someone who doesn't give you a choice. But there is at least one thing that you can use as a reminder to help pick you back up."

"What would that be?" Videl turned around, a gleam in her eyes as she heard of a solution to her own mental torment.

"Always remember." Chichi smiled, her voice making it seem like it was the simplest of answers. "Remember why you fight, remember how you are outside of a fight, remember that there is more to live then fighting. But most importantly, remember that you've saved more lives then you'll ever take. If you can keep that in mind, someday you'll be able to live with yourself over the fact that sometimes you have to abandon your kind nature to do what you have to. After all, how can you learn to be kind, if you cannot learn to be cruel?"

XxX

The next morning, an hour after breakfast, Videl was standing on the beach, slowly going through each of her forms as training. Her mind was still reeling from the events of the day before, but the slow and repetitive actions of training always allowed her to calm down significantly, her mind returning to order while there were no conscious thoughts going through her head.

Just as she finished her fifth form, ready to proceed to the sixth, Videl suddenly saw Sharpener running towards her, busy on his own training schedule. Apparently, his training had him running knee-deep in the lake's water. Today, Gohan had returned to West City so he could put in another day of work at Capsule Corporation, so Sharpener only did basic exercises without Gohan's supervision.

As he neared her, the blond slowed down, eventually coming to a stop next to her.

"Hey Vi, you okay?" Obviously he was still worried about yesterday as well. Realizing she might as well take a few minutes pause in between forms, Videl walked up to her tall friend before answering.

"Yeah, I'm good. Still thinking about a lot of things, but nothing serious, Sharpy, don't worry about it. How's your training coming along?"

"Glad to hear it Vi. And my training is going pretty good, I'm almost halfway through with the morning training. Need to finish my three mile run – I have about half a mile left to go – and then it's a long round of pushups, situps, pullups, squads and more, before going to shadowing. I have to say, I already feel a lot more fit then when I trained at the gym, like I'm light as a feather, you know." To emphasize his point, Sharpener started to do some light shadowing, his arms cutting the air so fast a 'woosh' sound was heard with each swing.

The speed of the swings was enough to stun Videl for a second as she watched. She had seen Sharpener throw thousands of punches, having watched all his matches and a lot of his trainings, but none of his punches had been that fast or sharp before. It was a very small difference in speed, but as any experienced athlete would know, an improvement in speed in less then a month's time was nothing short of incredible.

"Impressive, huh?" Apparently, her wonder at Sharpener's increase in speed was clear on Videl's face. "I know I've been moving forward leaps and bounds since Gohan started training me, but it's pretty hard to compare myself to a month ago."

"Yeah, it's a very big improvement in speed." Videl agreed, before an idea began to grow in her head. She needed to become stronger if she wanted to not become reliant on others – if she wanted to reclaim her title as strongest fighter at Orange Star High – maybe Gohan could help her out?

"Hey Sharpener," She started, knowing there was no use sugarcoating things. Besides, it wasn't even his call to make, she was just asking for his opinion. "Do you think I should go get Gohan to train me as well?"

"Doubt it." Sharpener immediately said, not even taking a second to consider things. Videl looked surprised by how quick his answer was, but Sharpener proceeded to explain things. "Yesterday, after you left, I had a chat with Gohan and this was one of the subjects that came up; I knew you were going to ask him to train you now that you knew of the difference between your strength. He said that he couldn't help you like he helped me, because we needed something else."

"Like what?"

"Well, I needed to redesign my fighting style from scratch, so I needed a lot of guidance and that's where Gohan came into the picture. You, on the other hand, don't need to change anything about your style but – as Gohan explained it – needed to add something, though he didn't want to say what. All he said was that the thing you needed to add wasn't something he could teach you."

"Wha-" Videl stopped her question halfway through before remembering her conversation with Chichi. Not just the conversation from yesterday, but also the one she had just after she arrived.

"**Well, her movements are all very sharp, fast and precise, but she doesn't really put a lot of force behind them and she's not really vicious with any of her attacks."** Chichi's words rang through her head. The mother of two had managed to find a flaw in her style after a few minutes of watching, and she thought she could remember others saying the same thing.

The Commander had said she was too soft on her enemies. That might have also been an advice, given by the King of all Bastards himself.

Suddenly another realization dawned within Videl's head. Without warning she turned around and dashed towards the house. If there was one person who she could ask to help her become stronger, learn to be vicious and gain more experience in combat, who better to ask then a former World Championship fighter?

If Gohan couldn't teach her to be more vicious, maybe Chichi could.

XxX

"Well, now that the paperwork is all finished, allow me to be the first to welcome you to Capsule Corporation's Research and Development department Vicky." Bulma said, reaching over her desk to shake her new employee's hand. A redhead in her mid twenties with average looks, but obviously well taken care of hair, Vicky Terrifa was the new employee Bulma had told Gohan about some days before. A new graduate from university, her fields of specialty might prove to be a big aid to Gohan's newest project.

Bulma had already told Vicky a bit about Gohan, telling her he was the department head in office, meaning that he checked out all the work, but other then that she hadn't said anything. This was made shockingly obvious when Gohan rushed into Bulma's office – wearing a low-cut, short-sleeved T-shirt Bulma had never seen him wear before but that definitely complimented him – Vicky's eyes were immediately sucked to Gohan's body.

"Who's the hunk?" The redhead suddenly asked, before remembering she was standing before Bulma Briefs and turning bright red. For her part, Bulma almost burst out laughing, knowing the surprise that was the come.

"Bulma, I just had a great idea!" Gohan shouted, placing a small object on her desk. Glancing at the clock on her desk, Bulma knew that Gohan had only just arrived. This was an idea he had gotten at home. Before he could start explaining it, though, Bulma pointed at Vicky and started an introduction.

"Before you start, allow me to introduce you to our newest employee. Vicky, meet Gohan Son, the head of R&D. Gohan meet Vicky Terrifa, I told you about her remember? I think she can be of use in your new motorcycle project."

Gohan immediately turned around and extended one hand to politely introduce himself, but Vicky was shell-shocked for a second before she managed to shake his hand in return. Her blush increasing in it's intensity.

"Hi, I'm Gohan, pleased to meet and I look forward to working with you."

"Pleasure is all mine." Vicky said, forcefully keeping her eyes locked on Gohan's face. "Sorry about just now, you just sorta… surprised me… and you're… not exactly what I'd have thought."

"A lot of people have a similar reaction when they first meet Gohan." Bulma comforted the girl. "He's still very young, but once you see some of his work, you'll understand why he's a department head while he's about half the age of most other employees." The blue-haired billionaire turned towards Gohan as she addressed the matter that had him barging into her office like that. "So, what was your new idea?"

"This!" Gohan triumphantly said, holding up the small object. "Do you know what this is? This is a training weight that Sharpener uses sometimes, he showed it to me this morning before I left for work. Unlike the regular weights, you can just attach this to your wrists or ankles and do your normal training."

"A useful concept and one that's been in use for the better part of two centuries." Bulma dryly remarked. "But what're you planning on doing with it?"

"Imagine if we could take this same concept, but use it with the graviton? If we can make it work, we'll have a portable, high-intensity training device that can be kept on a person at all times."

"Excuse me, but what's a graviton?" Vicky asked, curiosity overruling her initial idea of staying out a conversation between two high-ranking individuals.

"It's a special training device we created a while back, it increases the gravity in a certain area to a certain level. We're using it for testing various products and it can also be used as an actual training room, making every training exponentially tougher then it would have been normally. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to mass-produce them because of the cost-effect ratio, but they're proven to be effective." Gohan explained, seemingly not minding involving the redhead in the discussion. "But can you imagine what'll happen if we can manage to create an actual, mobile graviton?"

"Yes, I can." Bulma said, her own brains already working on the theory that would be required for such a device. "Maybe we can keep the cost of production down, in which case we might just revolutionize sports in general, which would be nothing short of amazing. But I'll be sure I'll never see my husband again, if he manages to get his hands on a device that lets him train twenty-four-seven."

XxX

"And that's number thirty, you sure you want to continue for now? We could take a ten minute break you know." Gohan told sharpener as he held out a gloved hand to help his friend up. Three days after the incident at the mall and two days after he made his new suggestion to Bulma, Gohan had another day off. And like every day off, he'd spend it training Sharpener. This was the afternoon training of the day, consisting of sparring, while the morning training had consisted of Gohan tossing rocks at Sharpener to enhance the blonde's ability to evade.

And just like every other time they had been sparring, Gohan had severely outclassed Sharpener. The current score on downs was thirty to zero, in Gohan's advantage.

Sharpener refused the offer for a break and assumed his stance as soon as he was on his legs. Also taking his stance, Gohan allowed Sharpener to go on the offensive. The blond started with a barrage of left-handed jabs, mixed in with some quick strikes from his right, but like the last few times he tried it, it didn't work. Using his left hand Gohan released a series of jabs that were aimed at every one of Sharpener's punches, hitting him on the arm, wrist of even the boxing glove itself, and redirecting the attack. As Gohan described it, it was a defensive offense. An unorthodox, but useful move.

While Gohan was busy evading or deflecting Sharpener's attacks, he allowed himself a glimpse past their own arena. A good distance away, Chichi and Videl were sparring, as they had been doing three times a day now. Unlike Gohan and Sharpener though, the two woman were nearly equal. Videl was in better physical shape, while Chichi was more experienced, even if she was a bit rusty.

Focusing on his own match again, Gohan had to sidestep a hook thrown by Sharpener, quickly followed by an uppercut, and proceeded to the offense. Swaying his weight, keeping his movements compact and quick like he had been ordered too, Sharpener managed to evade the first few strikes, blocking or deflecting a few with his arms, but Gohan kept the pressure on. Feinting a wide right hook, Gohan slipped a quick and short left uppercut and nailed his student on the chin. Sharpener stood his ground and took the hit, repaying the favor by landing a body blow a split second later, but Gohan finished the match by swinging his right fist in, hitting Sharpener straight in the temple.

The blond immediately went down, allowing Gohan to relax his stance as he looked over his body. The counter body blow that Sharpener had just used had been the most dangerous hit the blond had gotten in so far, showing that he was rapidly improving even while sparring, but it was far from the only hit. Gohan had only gained the first few downs for free, since then he had been forced to take at least one of Sharpener's punches at every round. If he hadn't had his inhuman stamina and power, he would no doubt have been down on the ground a lot as well.

Over at the other side of the field, Videl was forced to back up as Chichi managed to press her advantage. Using her snake fist style, Chichi managed to gain the offensive by use of longer range with her punches. Videl knew her own punches didn't have the range of Chichi's, because the older woman was fighting with her fingers extended instead of formed into fists, so she kicked out and hit Chichi in the side. However, Chichi slipped her arm over Videl's leg and pulled, disrupting the girl's balance, and sweeped her other leg out from under her, making the girl fall to the ground. The counterattack was finished up by Chichi giving a rough stomp on Videl's chest, knocking the air out of the girl's body.

"Very good." Chichi praised, bending forward to regain her breath, "But if you had kicked out with your other leg, you might have won that round. If you attack with your left leg, you can hit your opponent's liver, which almost certainly eliminates any chance for a counterattack. And keep in mind that you have to think and want to hurt me, not just defeat me. I still don't feel too intimidated by you when we face each other."

"I'm trying!" Videl said when she had gotten some breath back. "But it's really not as simple as you make it sound."

"Aah, Gohan is done." Chichi stated as she saw her son helping Sharpener to his feet, although the blond still looked a bit unstable. "Maybe he'll be able to give you a bit of advice on how to learn killing intend. Hey Gohan, can you get over here?"

Gohan quickly gave Sharpener instructions to remain seated for a few minutes, allowing his brain to restore itself after being rattled – Gohan had used a bit more force in his last punch then he had meant to – and jogged over to his mother and Videl.

"Gohan, if you could please give Videl a few pointers on how to use killing intend I'll go and see how Erasa's doing with dinner. She's a sweet girl and certainly a good cook, but it takes a lot of time for someone to learn to cook for you and your brother."

Ever since they had arrived, Erasa had been so captivated by the food Chichi cooked, that she immediately asked the matron for cooking lessons. Glad to have an interested spirit in the kitchen who wasn't out to raid the fridge, Chichi had quickly agreed. So, right now Erasa was busy cooking dinner while Chichi was training with Videl.

Gohan and Videl sat down so Gohan could try and explain, while Chichi managed to walk to the kitchen, her entire body stinging and burning because of bruises and aching muscles.

XxX

"Well Doctor, how is he doing so far?" Styring asked as he looked at the monitor, gaining a clear image of what was going on in the testing room.

"So far he is performing above my expectations. It is clear that with the enhancements that I have made, bio-engineered subject #1 has far surpassed human capabilities, as was expected. The severity of the enhancements does not seem to have had any negative side-effects." The Doctor answered, wires from his fingers inserted into the computer to analyze the data he received.

"Hey gramps, are we done yet, or do you want me to do more pointless exercises? I want a smoke." The subject yelled, annoyance radiating off his body. Raising both hands to eye level, the subject once again checked himself out. Due to the injuries suffered in the events of his arrest, one eye had to be replaced with the same kind of optical sensor as used in the androids and a metallic hand had been placed to allow the subject, due to the fact that he had completely lost his original right hands. Those were the only really big changes that indicated that this man was no longer completely sane, but it was far from the only one.

Of course, it didn't make the man any more grateful or cooperating. Still, that didn't really matter to Styring or the Doctor. The subject had agreed to carry out Styring's assignment in return for being granted these improvements and that was all they needed.

"Yes, we're done now. You can return to your room, but you'll be visited later today by some of the lab assistants for another update." The Doctor's aid, a senior researcher in Styring's employ, said through the microphone. An annoyed wave of his hand later, subject #1 had left the room, no doubt returning to his room.

"Now that this tedious business is over," The Doctor started, "I would like you to explain something to me. It is a puzzle I have been pondering ever since you agreed to assist me."

"Oh, truly Doctor?" Styring smiled. "What would that be. And perhaps we could best discuss our business in your office, there are several other subjects I wish to discuss with you today."

"Very well, let's go." Unplugging himself from the computers, the Doctor turned his hovering chair around and moved for the door, giving instructions to both the computer and his human aids as he went. "Keep the update system operating for the series three. So far the skeleton for the entire series has been completed, with the first three have reached completion. Utilize the data we've gained from today's tests and add it to their databanks. Also, reduce the armor plating incorporated in #3's secondary layer of skin. As proven by the field test, it reduces mobility by twelve percent and the slowdown is too sever. A reduction of thirteen-point-eight percent in armor thickness should suffice for maximum effectiveness."

Knowing better then to interfere with the Doctor at work, Styring waited just outside the door until his companion was done and joined him to his office. Once they got inside, Styring moved over to the bar he had installed in the Doctor's office, although the cyborg never used it. As the Doctor once again turned down the offer for a drink, Styring only poured a single glass of scotch, his mind already preparing for the conversation with the Doctor.

"Now Doctor, what was it you wished to ask of me?"

"Why are you assisting me in the restoration of my androids?" The scientist immediately said. "While your aid has been welcome and has significantly enhanced the series three androids, why are you helping me in creating them when you know I wish to use them to destroy the human race? You even insist on using other humans for tasks my androids could easily perform. You are a factor I cannot predict and thus form a threat to my objectives. I would understand you further to reduce the threat."

"Aah, yes, I thought that might intrigue you." Styring was once again smiling, knowing he held the advantage. Their alliance was not one build on trust or shared objectives, but rather of both men using the other for their own means. The Doctor always showed this by saying that Styring was assisting him rather then working together with him. For his part, Styring never revealed the full extend of his knowledge, goals or objectives. Only that he needed the androids and the Doctor's technology.

"Allow me to explain why I intend to let your androids roam free throughout the world. You are correct in your unspoken assumption that I do not share your goal of destroying the human race, in fact, I wish for nothing of the sort. You see, my good Doctor, I do not hate mankind as you do, but value them greatly. The ability of mankind to survive, the limits they will go to too ensure that survival, is something I greatly admire even though most people never truly understand it." Deciding to play somewhat open cards, Styring took a sip of his glass and continued.

"To understand, you must understand a part of my history. Fifty years ago, the last great war of Earth happened, you may remember it as well. All of Europe was the battlefield of a conflict of unmatched size. At the time I was seventeen, living with my parents and sister in my birthplace, a medium-sized village in Norway. We were right in the middle of one of the heavier battle zones when soldiers from one side invaded our village. Being a seventeen year old who worked out frequently, I had far too high an opinion of myself and thought I could take a battalion of soldiers on by myself."

Taking another drink, Styring wet his lips as he remembered rather unpleasant memories.

"I was shot that day and would have died if not for the interference of several other villagers. They had gotten together and attacked the soldiers for attacking our village. They were killed to the last man, forty dead bodies lying on the ground, with only a few soldiers wounded. I still remember the feelings I had that day, when I first used an underhanded tactic to survive and kill; I played dead, until the soldier checked up on me. With the surprise, I killed him." Realizing he might just reveal too much, Styring changed his tone at once.

"Many, many more events occurred during that war, inspiring me to go into arms dealing and growing out to become one of the world's richest men, but the point of it is, my good Doctor, that I learned just how far humans could go to stay alive. Betraying the people they had known all their lives or putting aside old rivalries to stand united against a common foe. There are no limits that people have when it comes to survival. And that is what I wish to make everyone realize."

"You intend to show them the depths that they will willingly go to for survival?"

"No, I wish to make them realize just how much stronger humans can become when we put aside our self-inflicted morals and do whatever we can to reach our goals. Your androids will serve me in this." Styring drained his glass, but did not place it back on the table, looking at it as he continued. "You will release the androids into the world and they will kill millions, maybe even billions, and they will destroy cities and entire cultures. Chaos will rule over the planet, as the androids will become the very icons of fear and hatred to all living beings. Through that fear and hatred, the people will unite and bind together, forgoing all morals and limits to survive. In short, your androids will force mankind to transform, become something more, stronger then they have ever been."

"And then what, when mankind stands united, but on the brink of destruction, living on a destroyed planet. What will you do then? "

"Is it not obvious? When finally mankind has been forced to evolve, to shed their shell of morals and limitations, when they have walked through hell itself and emerged stronger, I shall appear and save them from the androids. I alone will have the means to survive their attacks, I alone will have the weapons and technology to finally overcome the mechanical horrors. Their fear for your androids will overrule all, people will do whatever I say to receive my weaponry. I will weed out those weaklings that still remain, until all that remains are humans who have reached their full potential. Then your androids will fall, and I will be named as the greatest hero of mankind, having saved them from destruction."

Placing the glass down on the table, Styring looked up and locked his eyes on the ceiling, though his eyes were clouded.

"They will have me as their leader, the one power above all, as I guide mankind to outer space and we settle on a new planet, memories of our old weaknesses all but forgotten. I know Capsule Corporation has the technology to go on long-distance space travels, even if they do not reveal it as public knowledge. The previous Commander was not quite as good as the current one; my spies obtained me quite some secret information before they were found out."

Over in his special chair, the Doctor was silent, his own mind racing over what this meant. Somehow, Styring thought he could create weaponry capable of destroying the series three androids? More improvements would have to be made, secretly, no-one other them he himself could know about it. Anyone and anything else was a liability, even his computer was no longer safe. A seething hatred emerged, but the Doctor managed to keep himself in control. He still needed Styring's financial support. But once this was over… the Doctor would personally see to it that Behersk was killed. No-one plotted the destruction of his androids and lived to finish their plot.

Calming himself down, Styring looked as he saw the small twitches that indicated that the Doctor was seething, enraged at how Styring was planning on using his creations. Good, that would only cause him to strengthen the androids further, but it would be nearly impossible for him to locate the one flaw Styring had let his researchers slip into the programming. As long as the Doctor refused to allow himself to think like a human, using only logic and deduction, the flaw would remain invisible to him. Just the way Styring had intended. With a wry smile, Styring concluded his story.

"I am, you could say, at my basis the same as everyone else with money and power. Obsessed with greed, poisoned by it, I want more and more of both money and power."

XXXxxxXXXxxx

A rather large chapter, much larger then I had originally intended, but overall I liked how it turned out.

unfortunately, this chapter wasn't beta'd because Kushin is too busy with exams right now. any all mistakes still left are mine

And as always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

* * *

It was dark in the capsule house, except for a light above the kitchen table, where Sharpener and Gohan sat facing each other. Both were looking right into the other's eyes, knowing how important eye-contact was.

"I've already told you," Gohan said, his face and voice kept in a perfect mask, "I don't know anyone called 'Erasa,' you've already asked my three times and my answer hasn't changed."

"Hmm…" Sharpener was lost in thoughts for a second, still looking at Gohan. A single drop of sweat was suddenly seen atop the black-haired teen's hair, but there was no other hint that he was suffering under pressure.

"Very good," The blond finally said. "You've managed to keep the wavering and doubt out of your voice this time, and keeping eye-contact is also good, but be careful not to overdo it. This means you've now passed the first part; obvious lies. Tomorrow, we'll get started on more subtle lies."

"Ok, good. Glad I finally got this down." Gohan sighed with relief, visibly relaxing in his chair. "Well, let's get some sleep then. Tomorrow is another sparring day, so you'll have to get as much rest as you can."

"Will do coach." Sharpener joked, raising one arm in a mock-salute. "Oh, by the way, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Gohan, who had already stood up from his chair and was moving towards the bedroom, stopped and looked at his friend. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I want you to answer this honestly; who do you like better? Erasa or Videl?"

Gohan froze, a look of discomfort on his face, while Sharpener's expression didn't change one bit; he even looked serious. Finally, a small blush appeared on Gohan's cheeks as he answered.

"I've… never really looked at them that way. I never thought about that, really." Even the socially awkward Gohan knew that was something he should have done by now.

Sharpener agreed with Gohan's thoughts by dropping his head on the table, muttering something that almost sounded like a question to the powers that be why Gohan had to be such an idiot sometimes.

When Sharpener raised his head, his shoulders were slumped a bit, as if he was suddenly wearing a heavy bag.

"Nerd-boy, we're going to switch to daily lessons from now on. Aside from lying, I'm going to have to teach you how to be a normal teenager…"

XxX

As soon as the light-ball made contact with the building, it was devoured in a blinding explosion. A split second later Saiyaman shot forth out of that same explosion, his clothes torn and burned, but otherwise looking fine. He responded by firing the same balls of light, all of which made a small explosion upon impact.

Videl growled as she looked at the footage again, slowing the image down to the maximum the computer could allow. Before, she had been watching the footage at about a thousandth of it's normal speed and it still looked like she was seeing a high-speed fight.

This made her realize that, had the satellites not been equipped with cameras that could shoot up to ten million frames per minute, the entire fight would have been impossible to watch. The realization of Saiyaman and his enemies being able to move at such speeds was… humbling to say the least.

Videl shifted in her seat and immediately cursed herself as pain shot through her bruised left side. Chichi hadn't been mistaken when she said she was a harsh teacher; every single sparring ended with both women limping away with at least five new bruises. In their last match, Chichi had somehow managed to plant a nasty elbow right between Videl's ribs, reducing her ability to move her left side.

Which was the reason why she was sitting here, watching the recordings of Saiyaman's fight, hoping to learn something. Questions kept popping up in her heard, like what was that light they used? How is it that both Saiyaman and those androids were able to use it? If the androids used it, it might be explained by saying that it's nothing more then a mechanical function, but Saiyaman – who had been proven to be flesh-and-blood in that fight – could also use it.

When she switched the screen type to heat-scan and replayed the footage, she let out a loud gasp, surprised at what she saw. Gohan, who was sitting in the living room talking with Erasa and trying to memorize which clothing he could wear together and what not, heard the gasp and looked at the table Videl was sitting at. Sharpener was doing his evening run and for once Gohan had been prevented from joining the boxer.

"What's up Videl?" He asked. Erasa also looked up with a curious look on her face.

"Check this out." She said as she carried her portable computer system over to the couch the others were sitting on. "I've been looking at the Saiyaman fight today and when I switched the screen to heat-scan mode, look what happens!" She showed the footage to the others.

Erasa looked at the brightly colored screen, each color indicating another level of heat, but couldn't quite make it out. Gohan, on the other hand, was looking with wide eyes, as he realized what he was looking at. There, in Saiyaman's hand, was a definite orb of heat. The same appeared a few seconds later in the hands of several of the androids.

"Amazing…" Gohan's voice was barely above a whisper as he looked at the screen. He realized what was going on. He was looking at proof that Energy was scientifically present; a real, undeniable fact now that could be proven. But what had him fascinated more then the heat of the actual energy attacks, was the small difference in heat that appeared just before one of the blasts appeared.

'_If I could do some research… I might be able to make energy a common factor, prove to the world that it exists… and more importantly, know for myself how exactly it is created._'

Finally, Gohan managed to find his voice again.

"Videl, can I borrow your computer tomorrow? I have got to show this at work!"

XxX

"Hey, you ok?" Gohan asked as Sharpener shook his head to clear it and stood back up. It was dark outside, and without any lights in the clearing, it made the spar that much more intense. It had become an exercise in controlling their senses, even in high-speed combat.

"Yeah, I'm cool." The blond said, getting back in his stance. "I must be getting some immunity to pain by now, with the amount of punches you've landed on me."

At once Sharpener started his assault, his left fist jabbing forward at insane speeds, but Gohan intercepted or dodged almost all of them. In between the barrage, Gohan suddenly counter-attacked, jabbing with his right. The roles were instantly reversed, Sharpener swaying, sidestepping, blocking and parrying all of Gohan's attacks.

A small break in combat as both combatants stepped back to rethink their strategy and catch their breath a bit.

"You know," Sharpener was struck with a sudden bout of inspiration, causing him to grin even in the middle of the match, "I've been on a date with Videl once."

At once a look of surprise appeared on Gohan's face and his arms lowered a little. Sharpener immediately took his chance and a second later, Gohan was lying on the floor, looking up at the pro boxer with a stunned look. Yet it was Sharpener who was howling in pain as he held his fist and almost jumped around the ring with a pained look, using a series of words that Chichi would have killed him for using around her children.

"Aagh, for fuck's sake, that fucking hurts, damnit!"

The colorful use of words shocked the demi-saiyan and he quickly stood up. He avoided asking Sharpener if he was ok, because he was obviously not. Finally, after a few more minutes of cursing everything in existence and howling with pain, Sharpener managed to calm himself down a bit.

"Damn, now I know what you meant when you said I wouldn't like it when I punched you unprepared. Fucking A, this hurts like a bitch."

"Sorry, is it broken?"

"No, I can still move, it'll be fine in a few days. But damn… your face makes rock look soft."

"Sorry."

"It's cool. I did manage to get your first-ever down because of it. So that's cool."

Neither fighter had noticed that, in the middle of all the cursing and yelling Sharpener had been doing, Erasa had snuck away, back to the house with a grin on her face. She had come over hoping to find something entertaining while Goten was sleeping and Videl was continuously looking at her computer's screen, but she learned something far more important then what she had expected.

XxX

"It's an interesting idea, and I can definitely understand the appeal this might have to you," Bulma removed her eyes from the screen, looking up into Gohan's eager face, "but I can't allow you to do this."

"What!?" Gohan looked surprised, almost shocked, at being denied his request for a new project. "Why not?"

"Because you're already working on two other major projects and this one will probably be even larger than the other two!" Bulma instantly replied. She took a breath to compose herself before continuing. "Look, Gohan, you know how we work here. It's an informal, relaxed atmosphere here at work with the idea that any idea someone has, they're allowed to work on; If they can convince me it's worth making."

Gohan tried to say something, but Bulma raised her hand to silence him before he even began.

"I know this idea is fascinating, it really is; making energy a proven fact is an interesting idea and we can definitely get some use out of this, but you have to take into consideration you're other functions as well. You aren't a random researcher that works here, you're not engineer number three-hundred-seventy-nine. You are the head of the Research and Development department.

That means that the board of directors has accepted you as the best scientist here; you are the checkpoint for all projects. You have more work than all the others combined; you have to continue work on your own projects, as well as keep in touch with every single other project that's being worked on. And to add to that workload, you're only here three days a week!"

"But I can keep up with my work in those three days!" Gohan protested.

"I know you can!" Bulma stood up from her chair, looking frustrated. "But I'm not talking about just being able to do your job. You are in a position of leadership here Gohan, you can't keep doing everything on your own. I hired Vicky here to let her help you out on the hovercycle project, but you still try to do everything on your own. The same with the new Graviton. You work on that project with two senior engineers, but still try to do everything yourself. Leadership isn't being able to do everything on your own Gohan; it's learning to assign tasks to others to reach maximum effect."

Gohan was silent, waiting for Bulma to continue, as the multi-billionaire lit a cigarette.

"So, until you learn to act more like a leader and less like an overzealous tech-freak, I can't let you continue on another project. Learn to let control go; the senior engineers can keep the Mobile Graviton going, Vicky, Thomas and Hayley are capable enough to continue the designs of the hovercycle without you supervising every single plan. Let them do the projects their way, but be around as a guide and supervisor, not the commanding scientist. Once you learn to do that and keep up with the other projects, I'll allow you to do a research into the true nature of energy; But no sooner."

Now Gohan sat back down, his eyes locked on the table as his mind was obviously racing.

"Gohan," Bulma said, recognizing the uncharacteristic dark look that appeared on the teen's face, "You know I'm not doing this to torment you or anything right? I love you like you're my own son, but you have to learn to become a better department head before I can allow you to gain full control here. You are without a doubt one of the best scientists the Capsule Corporation has, right up there with my dad, me, Hayley and Clark. This isn't a question about your ability to do science."

"I know." Gohan stood up, still not looking too happy. Still, he managed to flash a brief smile to Bulma before he left her office. "I'll see if I can get you to allow me to start that research later. Leading can't be that hard; can it?"

XxX

Videl's hands were expertly running over the skin, sparks of thunder moving up her arm at every bit of muscle, scar or other bumps she ran into. Her head was lying, perfectly at ease, atop that same broad chest as she listened to a loud but relaxed heartbeat. With each ministration, the heartbeat jumped and Videl took no small amount of pride in being the cause of that increased heartbeat.

She looked up, seeing a well-known face coming closer. Videl closed her eyes and raised her head to meet up with Gohan's lips eagerly. The first contact was sweet, pouring her over with love and tenderness, but then that was suddenly broken and the two teens were rolling around in the bed, hungrily seeking out each other's mouth, their hands freely roaming around their bodies.

Then Gohan withdrew and all of a sudden his voice was different, his face covered by a helmet and Videl realized that mid-way into them making out, Gohan had been replaced by Saiyaman. Where Gohan was tender, but teasing, in his ministrations, Saiyaman kept his hands in place and somehow managed to supply pressure that send her through the roof. Her hands felt the skin-tight black uniform he was wearing, but it didn't stop her from feeling every little detail of his body. Saiyaman stopped his ministrations and started kissing down her neckline and continued south from there, leaving loving kisses everywhere.

When the superhero reached her breasts, Videl leaned back in ecstasy, and suddenly the kisses stopped before they were replaced by hands, roughly massaging her. Looking up in surprise, Videl was looking right into the helmet of the Commander. His coat was discarded and muscular torso bare, but even so his face was kept hidden. It took Videl a second to realize that the helmet was the only thing he was wearing, but by the time that thought registered the military man continued his rough treatment.

There was no sweet tenderness or small touches; The Commander's hands were roaming over her body, his stimulation rough but more intense for it. Videl suddenly felt herself about to explode, when his fingers abandoned her breasts and head south. Like before, he was not soft when he touched –

"AARGH!"

Videl shot up from her sleep, dripping with sweat and shaking badly. Besides her, Erasa shot up at the sudden cry, looking startled. She started to ask what was going on, but before she had a chance, Goten and Chichi suddenly ran into the room.

"What's going on?" "I heard you scream, what's wrong?" The two Son's asked.

"I'm sorry…" Videl finally said, her voice sounding raspy, foreign and… different… from normal, even to her own ears. "I… I just had a bad dream, that's all. I woke up with a start, I'm sorry to scare you all like that."

"That's ok! I used to have nightmares a lot too! Do you want a hug? Whenever I had a nightmare, mommy or Gohan would give me a hug and after that I could sleep without a problem." Goten immediately supplied. Videl smiled at the boy, but still declined his offer, saying she would be alright. After a few seconds, Chichi turned to Goten – who was starting to fall asleep where he was standing – and picked him up to return him to his bed. Goten was asleep again before he left the room, now that the excitement was over.

Videl turned around, looking straight into Erasa's far-too-awake eyes, complete with the knowing twinkle and almost predatory smirk that Videl never liked.

"What is it E?" Videl asked, trying her best to sound sleepy. "I'm sorry I woke you up, let's get some z's".

"Vi, you may be able to fool Chichi, but I know you." That infuriating smirk never left her lips, causing Videl to back off. "You don't have nightmares that have you waking up screaming. You awake with a start, but without a sound when you have a nightmare. So, what was the dream? And might explain to me why you're this covered in sweat, your voice is so raspy and how on earth did our room suddenly develop this new… aroma?"

Videl paused, for the first time realizing that there was, indeed, a specific aroma in the room that hadn't been there before. She mentally noted that she'd have to leave the window open all day. At the same time, she realized that lying to Erasa wouldn't work and that this conversation was completely, one-hundred-percent, swear-upon-oath-of-pain-and-death safe. So she talked.

"It was a dream, but not a nightmare. I woke up next to Gohan, and we started making out." Videl's blush was apparent, even in the dark, but she didn't stop talking. "When he pulled back, he was suddenly Saiyaman, and he started kissing me along my jaw and… lower. And then he was suddenly replaced by the Commander, who didn't kiss me at all, but let his fingers do the work. That's where I woke up."

"Wow… Gohan, Saiyaman and the Commander, all in one go. Not that I can blame you, all three are really hot!"

"That's all you have to say?"

"Well, what'd you want me to say?"

"I don't know, but I'm getting sick and tired of my mind always jumping to either of those three, no matter what happens. I'm shadowing? I hear the Commander mocking me. I'm sparring? I see a shadow of Gohan's movements; so far ahead I can't even touch it. I'm running? I see Saiyaman flying before me, moving so fast I can't even dream of catching up."

"Vi, you know what's going on; you just don't want to admit it." Erasa softly, but certainly said.

"And that is?"

"You're having a crush again! For the first time in years. And more then one, you have three right away. Girl, when you do something, you do it good don't you?"

"I don't have a crush…"

"Erotic dreams about all three at once? Definitely a crush girl, but don't worry, I'll help you work this out as best I can! After all, I may not know anything about battles, but relationships are my forte."

XxX

The sun was shining brightly, the flowers and trees around them were all in full bloom and the water was so clear and sparkly that all teens could see the bottom. A few fish were swimming around, but they had all scattered when the teens had appeared. Erasa had managed to convince Gohan and Sharpener to abandon training for one day – saying that Sharpener's overly tense muscles needed an additional day of relaxation – and get them to hang out together.

Along with last week's realization that she had a crush on Gohan, Videl had found that being in the tall boy's presence was very different from how it had once been. She noticed a lot more about him, but was prone to sudden blushes. Fortunately for her, Gohan had remained oblivious to that. Chichi and Sharpener she wasn't so sure about. The Son Matron was VERY sharp about some things and Sharpener knew Videl as well as Erasa did. Still, neither of them had made any mention of it if they did notice.

"Hey Gohan, how about a friendly race?" Sharpener suddenly asked, looking at the water. It was only waist deep in the river they were sitting next too and both males were wearing their swimming trunks. Courtesy of the shopping trip, Gohan was now the proud owner of two pair of swimming trunks. Erasa had even remembered to buy the same two pairs for Goten, so the two brothers would still be a matching set.

"Oh no you two!" Erasa playfully yelled. "You're busy with sports every day of the week, right now you're spending time with us two lovely ladies and don't you dare abandon us!"

"Lovely ladies? Where?" Sharpener mimicked looking around, to the amusement of Videl and Gohan, and the feigned annoyance of Erasa. "But don't get your panties in a bunch Erasa, I was planning on something you and Videl would also join in on."

"Oh?" Videl's right eyebrow shot up, almost disappearing into her hairline, at the mention. "And what race would that be that involves us? Unlike you two, we haven't been running like horses every day, so it wouldn't exactly be a fair race now would it?"

"Like that'd matter to you, you're fast as a lightning bolt." Sharpener returned, grinning at Videl, "But I was talking about having a team race. Me and Erasa against you and Gohan, doing a dash through the water."

At this point Videl's suspicion that Sharpener was working with Erasa to hook up the two raven-haired teens, but she kept her face neutral as she spoke up. "So what; you against Gohan and me against Erasa, dashing back and forth?"

"No, I have a much better idea!" Erasa suddenly jumped upon Sharpener's back, locking her legs around his waist and arms around his neck, "You two carry us while racing! It'll be a real team-race."

Sharpener looked surprised, but quickly voiced an agreement. Unable to mount a proper counterargument, both Videl and Gohan had to relent to the two blonds. Two minutes later, Gohan and Sharpener stood side by side in the waist-deep water, the girls on their backs. Unnoticed by the males, Erasa gave a suggestive wink to Videl as she pulled herself a little closer to Sharpener's back to indicate Videl should do the same.

Pointedly ignoring the hint, Videl continued her countdown and the guys dashed off as soon as she gave the all-clear. Despite suffering considerable resistance from the water, both Gohan and Sharpener made surprisingly good time, forcing the two girls to hold on tight while yelling with glee.

A little further, around halfway through the dash, there was a small hill in the water, lifting Gohan and Videl up for a second before stumbling down into the water again. The shock and sudden direction change made Videl grab a tighter hold on Gohan, unintentionally rubbing herself against him. Both teen's faces were instantly a bright scarlet when they realized what was going on, but in that moment Sharpener moved past them.

Now motivated to win, Gohan restarted his dash and quickly caught up with Sharpener, Videl still clinging to his back and yelling for him to win. They were only a short way from the finish now. Sharpener increased his speed, initiating a final dash, as did Gohan. Suddenly, both Gohan and Videl looked at the water rushing up at them as Gohan tripped over a rock in the river's bottom.

Sharpener and Erasa loudly proclaimed their win, doing a little jiggle and some funky arm and hip movements to emphasize, while Gohan and Videl burst free from the water and immediately burst out laughing at their own misfortune. For the first time since her realization, Videl was at last relaxed around Gohan and she was loving every moment of the sheer enjoyment she experienced.

XxX

Time passed in a daze for Gohan, moving far faster then he had ever experienced it before. The days suddenly shot past, making the weeks that passed seem like mere hours to him, due to the time he shared with his friends. Sharpener and Videl had shown vast improvements in their fighting ability since arriving, Erasa's cooking was becoming as good as his mother's and he was simply having the time of his life.

The last time Gohan had felt this happy was when he was five, before Raditz had appeared and his life had become a chain of battles. These past seven weeks that he spent with his friends were the best of his life. He almost regretted that two weeks from then, they'd have to return to school.

But that was neither here nor there, as right now Gohan was standing in the testing room of Capsule Corporation. Along with everything else he was doing, Gohan had followed Bulma's advice and attempted to hand over some of his work on the hovercycle and Mobile Graviton project over to his subordinates. It proved far more difficult then he had ever expected, and even now he was still having trouble coordinating everything instead of being in the thick of it himself.

But it had proven to be effective; he was managing all projects in the Research & Development department far more effectively now, and his subordinates had indeed proven themselves more then capable of doing everything he wanted to happen. There was good progress on the hovercycle, with a prototype being currently developed, and today was the testing day of his other inventions; the Mobile Graviton.

Still being a test-model, this version of the Graviton looked more like a complete suit of armor then a convenient training device; atop his forehead, shoulders, back, chest, hips, arms and legs, there were gyro's located, each of which would move and create a magnetic field to increase the gravity. In theory, this should work without a flaw and once this was over, they could work on improving the design.

Even Vegeta and Trunks had shown up, while Bra was spending the night over at Marron's house. Again.

Despite relinquishing control of the project and taking a leadership position, Gohan had insisted – and succeeded – in testing the suit himself. Seeing how he was the only scientist present who could withstand gravities higher then three G's, it had seemed the logical and safe choice that Gohan was the field-tester.

"Ok, Gohan, are you ready?" Clark's voice sounded over the intercom. The senior researcher had taken a lead in the development of the Mobile Graviton, working alongside with several senior engineers, and was now overseeing it's primary testing.

"Ready to go Clark, fire her up."

Lights started flashing on the computers that the suit was hooked into and a second later the gyro's started spinning, the multiple rings spinning and turning around each other without any problems.

"Going to two G, do you feel anything yet?"

"I think I feel something, try and turn it up a bit more!"

"Will do."

The display monitor across the room indicated to Gohan how high the gravity was going.

Three G's and Gohan still felt nothing. The counter kept increasing at Gohan's insistence. At ten G's Gohan felt a slight pull on his body, but still he ordered it raised. Twenty G and Gohan was still hardly annoyed, thirty G and he was smiling. At eighty G his body became heavy and finally at ninety G, Gohan realized his body was starting to get affected by the pressure.

He ordered Clark to stop raising the gravity, and immediately it stopped the counter froze.

"How is it?" There was now open amazement in the other man's voice. They had all known that Vegeta, Trunks and Gohan were far stronger then the average human being, but they had never expected it to be this much.

"I think it's working like a charm." Gohan responded, carefully testing his movements. His arms moved without problem, and he could walk around a few steps if he wanted to. His breathing was labored and his heart felt like it was pumping lead. It took Gohan to realize that, of course, his blood had increased in weight as well, so his heart was in essence pumping lead. The blood had become so heavy it could be compared to a big, heavy, pile of lead.

Slowly, Gohan raised his power level a bit, attempting to ease the strain on his body and strengthen his heart a bit more, when it suddenly happened. Before anyone could understand what was going, the speed of the gyro's become de-synchronized, and the gravity-indication-screen started to scramble the numbers.

Gohan didn't even have time to look surprised as his body was suddenly even more heavy and he fell to the ground. With extreme effort, Gohan managed to turn his head and eyes to look at the counter. It was messed up, shooting up and down randomly, but it now held three digits instead of two. And if he wasn't mistaken, it kept going higher.

"GAARGH!" Gohan grunted as he tried to raise his power level further, but instead of allowing him to break free, the machine increased it's fluctuations in gravity level, reaching even greater heights.

From behind the screen, the researcher staff, as well as Bulma, Vegeta and Trunks watched in shock as the numbers kept reaching higher and higher.

1500G. Gohan was screaming in pain, but no-one could even more.

3072G. Gohan stopped shouting, but his mouth was still open, his vocal cords to heavy to be vibrated.

4086 G. Gohan's body exploded in a flash of gold as the young warrior somehow managed to transform into a Super Saiyan, and for an instant it looked like the suit might burst, but it held true. The numbers scrambled even harder.

79347G. Not even three seconds of time had passed since Gohan fell down, time being the only factor that had stopped the immense weight of Gohan's body from dropping through the floor, when Vegeta moved.

With one hand the Prince pushed the researchers aside, barely containing himself enough not to send them into walls and bone-breaking speeds, and he immediately shot a ball of energy forth with his other. The bright light devoured the entire wall and research room, but thankfully it didn't explode.

As the light stopped, the naked and obviously hurt figure of Gohan could be seen. Vegeta had calculated his power well; the attack had destroyed the Mobile Graviton suit while not being strong enough to destroy the younger warrior. Bulma rushed over at Gohan, but Vegeta and Trunks were already there and turned him over. Gohan was as white as a ghost, his chest wasn't moving and his eyes rolled up into his head.

Bulma felt at Gohan's neck, but immediately had to withdraw as a bolt of lightning shocked her. Vegeta touched the same spot a second later, ignoring the shock of the lightning with battle-hardened toughness.

"There's no pulse! And he's not breathing!"

"He's gone into a cardiac arrest; we have to get him out and breathing again!" Bulma was very close to panicking, just like the other scientists behind them. It was Vegeta who immediately took control of the situation, knowing the others were shocked beyond belief.

"Trunks; get over to your grandfather's drinking cabinet and grab the first bottle you can find, NOW!" It took the boy a second or two to process the order, but then he was away. Vegeta brought back his arm and with a wide arc, slammed his fist into Gohan's chest, forcing his lungs and heart to move. There was only the barest of movements and Vegeta's fist felt as if it was already on the edge of breaking. Ignoring the pain, Vegeta repeated the maneuver.

Trunks was back in a matter of seconds, holding two large, full bottles of strong and expensive liquor. Dr. Briefs, while not a chronic drinker, enjoyed a nice glass of sherry or scotch before sleeping, and like most rich men he bought bottles so expensive it was almost a waste to drink it. Not caring one bit about his father-in-law's pleasures, Vegeta pulled back and punched Gohan straight across the jaw, forcing it open. The punch was strong enough to almost break both Gohan's jaw and Vegeta's own hand, but at least now Gohan's mouth was open.

Vegeta immediately broke one of the two bottles open, ignoring the bottle but simply shattering the top-half, and poured the liquid down Gohan's throat. As soon as the entire bottle was empty, Vegeta returned to punching Gohan's chest as hard as he could, ensuring the boy would live the vital seconds or minutes needed for the alcohol to work.

After nearly twenty seconds of constantly forcing Gohan to breathe, the teen's body suddenly completely relaxed. Vegeta barely managed to stop his fist, preventing himself from smashing Gohan's chest in. Gohan returned to breathing on his own as he fell out of Super Saiyan, but his breathing was still uneven and the boy was knocked out.

Everyone let out a breath of relief they didn't know they'd been holding, while Vegeta examined his fists. Both were completely broken if he wasn't mistaking.

"What the… what just happened…" The voice belonged to the new employee, Vicky, and it was understandable that she was shocked, but no-one responded for a second.

"Vegeta, how did you… what happened?" Bulma started as she dropped down next to Gohan, unable to hold her weight on her legs any longer.

"Think Woman." Vegeta managed to keep the wince of pain out of his voice, but Bulma still knew he was in pain. He never took that tone with her unless he was hurt. Still, he knew better then anyone else on earth what the effects of the Graviton were, so no-one interrupted him.

"That blasted contraption of his made his blood too heavy to pump around and his lungs to heavy to breath. His muscles instinctively tensed up to prevent his body from being crushed by the weight, but when the pressure gave way the tension was still there. And remember what happens when a Saiyan drinks that toxin you humans insist on drinking all the time?"

Bulma's response was almost automatic, but the relief in her voice was obvious for all to hear. "The Saiyan's low resistance to toxins, of course. Upon drinking alcohol, it's quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and there removes all tension from the muscles."

"Precisely, He'll be as weak as a baby for the next while, but at least he'll be alive to experience them."

"Wow." Trunks finally said, sounding more awed then anything. "That was totally awesome dad!"

XxX

Gohan woke up in his own bed, looking up at the ceiling, with a shock. Looking outside, he saw that the sun was beginning to rise, so he knew a lot of time had passed. But he didn't really remember what had happened. The last thing he knew was the Mobile Graviton suit going haywire…

Turning to his other side, Gohan winced as pain shot up from his chest. It felt like some of the bones there were broken, but he couldn't be sure. Slowly he continued his turn, to find himself looking at his mother, Goten, Videl, Erasa and Sharpener all sitting in various seats all over the room. The grunt of pain he had released was enough to wake them from their uncomfortable sleep and they looked up to see Gohan wake.

Since Goten had been sitting in the back, Sharpener reached out just in time to stop the youngster from jumping on his brother's chest. Although in different ways, they each showed they were happy he had recovered.

"What happened?" Gohan's voice was shaky and the act of speaking hurt him in a way he'd never have imagined; similar to speaking with a parched throat, but deeper down and far more intense.

"Bulma and Vegeta brought you over yesterday." Chichi finally said, tears freely streaming down her face. She broke down sobbing in relief, so Sharpener took it upon himself to explain while Erasa tended to the older woman.

"They said there was a sudden problem with a machine you were testing and you suddenly dropped into a cardiac arrest. You even stopped moving. Bulma said that Vegeta saved your life; he gave you CPR and managed to trigger your allergy to alcohol so you could return to breathing yourself. From what Bulma said, if he'd acted a bit slower, or not as thorough…" he didn't need to finish that sentence.

That explained the pain Gohan had experienced when moving, but it also refreshed his memory. No-one spoke, except for the occasional whimper of complaint from Goten about being held by Sharpener, while Chichi slowly calmed down.

After recovering, but with her eyes still big, red and puffy, she walked over and sat on the bed of her eldest son. She kissed his forehead and when she spoke, everyone was immediately silenced.

"Oh Gohan, I was so scared. I thought… I thought you weren't going to… please, never, ever do anything like that again." Again she started sobbing. "I thought I was going to lose you, just like your father."

XxX

Gohan had followed the advice of Bulma, Chichi and the medical expert that Bulma had consulted, and stayed in bed for a few days to recover, doing nothing but sleeping and eating. Finally, after three days, he managed to sneak out at night long enough to meet up with Dende and get his ribs healed, before sneaking back. The healing also restored his heart and lungs to full strength, considerably cutting down on Gohan's recovery time.

Unfortunately, the healing didn't remove the alcohol from Gohan's body and the high amount meant he would be weakened for days or maybe weeks to come. So, the group had taken the excuse of Gohan not being allowed to overexert himself to take the last week they were spending at the Son's and doing absolutely nothing but relaxing. Sharpener and Videl still did their basic training, but their sessions were shorter and they spend more time relaxing with Gohan and Erasa.

And that's what they had been doing today; the group had taken Videl's Jetcopter and flown to Biscuit Town nearby, doing some shopping, hanging out and generally relaxing. They had been planning to go see a movie together, but by the time they had arrived, the tickets had already been sold out. And with the darkening of the sky, a prediction of bad weather quickly coming, the teens had decided to go back the Son house a bit early.

So, they arrived almost two hours earlier then Chichi and Goten had been expecting them. By now, neither Goten nor Chichi noticed the sound of the Jetcopter landing or leaving, since Videl used it at regular intervals to go shopping for the matron, so Chichi looked up with a mildly surprised look when she suddenly saw the quartet of teenagers stand in her living room.

However, all eight eyes of the teens were focused on the sight that was in front of them; Goten was sitting on the ground, playing with a set of toys Bulma had given him for his birthday last year. But the odd thing wasn't the fact that Goten was playing with racecars and the like. It was the fact he was wearing a vastly oversized orange helmet over his head, a black bodysuit in which he could go camping, a green Toga that would serve well as a tent on said camping trip, and finally a red cape that was twice as long as Goten was tall.

Looking up, Goten saw Videl and the others standing there and grinned up to them. Gohan wanted to die right then and there, or at least disappear without anyone noticing it.

"Lookie here, I'm Saiyaman! He's the coolest superhero EVEEER!"

* * *

A/N: much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, it turned out quite a bit bigger then I'd have thought.

As always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

As soon as the yell had left Goten's mouth, the air was heavy with silence; the noises from the kitchen disappeared as Chichi stopped cleaning the dishes, while both Videl and Erasa had their eyes glued to Goten and his weird getup. Sharpener quickly glanced at Gohan, his looks giving a clear message; 'Sorry bro, I can't help you out here.'

An instant later, both Videl and Erasa turned on the spot, their eyes immediately locking onto Gohan's face. Videl wore her old trademark scowl, a clear sign she was once again suspicious about something, while Erasa was simply looking confused. Moving fast, Sharpener followed the example set by the girls, also looking at Gohan with a very well-faked look of surprise.

Behind the teens, Goten seemed to realize something was wrong due to the atmosphere's sudden change. He had been running around in Gohan's Saiyaman-suit all afternoon, imagining that he was his brother as he fought imaginary enemies. After all, his brother was a true superhero, what was cooler then that? But back to the present, Goten was aware of what was going on and did the only thing he could think of; he grinned. And in the mysterious way of pre-teen boys, it would have been an apology magical and cute enough to save his brother from the girls' ire.

Only, the girls were currently standing with their backs to Goten, missing his cute grin as they glared at his older brother. Said brother tried sneaking a peak into the kitchen, maybe being saved from certain doom by his mother, but she was also frozen solid in the kitchen's doorway.

"What is going on here?" Videl finally managed to say, the words carrying avenom that hadn't been heard for weeks. Despite her crush on Gohan, Videl was still more then able to play the 'Bad Cop' when need be.

'_Ehm, come on Gohan, think, think, think!_' the teen was mentally yelling at himself, but his brain was still frozen solid from the surprise, the glare Videl was sending his way and the fantastic way he suddenly realized he could peek into Erasa's ample cleavage.

'_NOT a good time to think about that now!_' he quickly scolded. '_Come on Gohan, you're supposed to be a genius, you can do this!_'

"Ehm…. I-eh… we-…ya…" For some reason, no coherent words could be formed.

"Yes?" Still that tone of pure venom.

"Well, ehm, y-you s-s-s-see, I um… I kinda…. It's like…"

"I'm waiting Gohan…"

'_Think! Oh I wish Bulma was here, she's good at thinking in these situ- THAT'S IT!_'

"Well, you see, it's ehm… it's sorta… there's this, ehm, this party, yeah a party, that's, you know, ehm, being held. A-and it's a costumi- costumed party! Yeah, a costume party. I-it's being held at the, ahm, the Corpor, ehm, sorry, Capsule Corporation, pretty soon. Yeah, pretty soon." He didn't know where the idea suddenly came from, but he simply let the words flowing, remembering all of Sharpener's lessons of lying. And if this wasn't an obvious lie, nothing else would ever be…

"Uh-huh." Videl half-grunted her response, her eyes never leaving Gohan's face. "A costume party? At Capsule Corp?"

"Y-yeah, I was pl-planning to go as Saiyaman as you can see!" Gohan pointed at the suit Goten was wearing while still grinning. Neither of the girls turned around.

"Why didn't I hear anything about any party at the Capsule Corporation then? They're usually front-page material three weeks before they're held, not to mention that Dad and I always get invites as well, but they're silent on this. And why is your costume looking so good when we haven't seen you work on it for almost two months now?"

"Those… those are some pretty good questions…" Gohan was by now terrified of the glare Videl was sending her way, but he knew he had no alternative but to keep the lie up longer. "Well, you see, I, well I was, I was making the outfit before you guys came over to stay!"

"And why did you stop working on it then?"

"W-well, I was mostly finished already, only some of the very minor things left to adjust… and I was kinda, sort of… well you… know… I was sort of embarrassed about it."

A quick glance in the direction of Sharpener, who gave a very subtle sign to indicate Gohan was still going good.

"Well, I can imagine that." Videl said, backing off a bit. "I mean, I sure wouldn't want anyone to know it if I dressed up like that moron."

Her eyes stayed locked on Gohan as if to expect some reaction, but the half-saiyan was still too petrified to react.

"But that still doesn't answer my other question; why do you know about this party and I don't?"

'_Ah crap._' Gohan thought, his eyes again locked with Videl's.

"It's employees only!?" The blurt came out as a half-question, but half-way through he still managed to transform it into a statement. '_Thank you for all the lying training Sharpener!_'

"Employee only? That's still several thousand people, how could it not have reached the media yet?" Videl stepped closer this time, returning to her original position as she glared at Gohan. At her side, Erasa was now beginning to transform her eyes into stars.

"A party at Capsule Corps!? With Bulma Briefs attending!? Gohan, you have got to take me with you!"

"What I mean is, it's only for certain employees!" again the lie fell from his lips with little effort. Sharpener had been a more effective teacher then Gohan had ever thought.

"And you are selected because?"

"Because, ehm.. well…"

"What was the criteria for being allowed to join the party? Being employee of the month? Involved in a destroyed city?"

'_Think Gohan, what is something about my job I can mention? I'm a department head, I do research, I'm part of the R&D staff, and I'm also-_'.

"Part of a department's management." Only then did Gohan realize the words had actually been spoken. "Oops."

"Being part of the management? Well then, what's your function eh, Gohan?"

Part of the truth already revealed, Gohan felt a sudden fatigue fall over him, stopping him from continuing his lie. Before he could stop his mouth, the words had flown out. Off course, the incredibly surprised look on his mother's face at the super-warrior's sudden lying ability also shocked him enough.

"I'm the department head of Research and Development."

Once again silence, although this time Chichi looked like she was about to slap herself, while Erasa and Videl's jaws nearly dropped to the floor.

"WHAT!" they both yelled at once, their faces now so close that Gohan could count each individual eyelash, before he dropped back and fell on his behind.

"You never said anything about that Nerd-boy." Sharpener added; a look of surprise on his face. Apparently, Gohan had forgotten to tell his friend about the title of his job, while he had told him about the specifics.

"I'm sorry; it's just that, well." '_Come on Gohan, honesty as got you into this, maybe it'll get you out._' "I wanted to keep it a secret, because I didn't want you to think of me as some sort of weirdo. When I was introduced at school, I said I worked at the R&D department and someone filled in that I was a delivery boy in there."

"Yeah, I did." Sharpener softly said, remembering that day.

"Well, I never bothered to correct you. And once I got to know you guys a bit better, it never really came up. I'm sorry."

The two girls looked at each for a long time, passing some form of silent communication, before they both reached out and each grabbed one of Gohan's hands to help him up.

"Well, that's alright." Erasa smiled as bright as she ever had. "At least now it's out in the open. But maybe you can ask Bulma if you're allowed to bring guests along?"

"Well, I can try." Gohan relented, still weak to the puppy-dog-eyes that everyone but him seemed to be able to use.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get changed. We'll be able to get a run in before dinner." Sharpener pulled Gohan's shoulder, saving him from the girls as they made their way to the capsule house.

"Hey Sharpener, can I borrow your cell?" Gohan asked as soon as they were inside.

"What for?" despite the question, Sharpener had already thrown the device over to Gohan, who caught it and started dialling numbers immediately. "By the by, I have to say that was some smooth talking, you're a hell of a lot better then I'd have thought."

"Thanks. But now I've somehow got to convince Bulma to hold a costumed party."

A second of silence before Sharpener let out a loud roar of laughter. His best friend really had gotten better at lying!

XxX

The bright lights all over the courtroom were a great distraction during the trial, but Videl managed to keep her eyes pointing forward and pay attention to what was going on. It was not the first – and most likely not last time – she had attended a trial, although this was by far the shortest trial she had ever attended, and one the media had shown the most interest in. once again her eyes fell on the defendant, who sat with his head held high.

Police Commissioner Yolal.

Unlike many men who Videl had seen sitting in the defendant's seat, Yolal had upon entering the seat immediately pled guilty for the charge he was facing: Insubordination. In fact, the only reason this had become a legal trial at all, instead of something that was handled discretely behind the closed doors of the city hall, was because the media had made such a big deal out of it.

Powerful as they may be, Videl had realized; Politicians are still susceptible to the power of the media. Bad press was almost equal to being powerless, because the public wouldn't support their actions. If the media wanted this to become a trial, it became a trial.

As the jury left the room to reach their verdict in private, Videl's eyes once again scanned the crowd, her eyes lingering on the numerous powerful figures present. Not only herself and her father were present, but there were Bulma and Vegeta Briefs as well as many other politicians and company directors. In fact, there were only two persons Videl was missing; Styring Behersk, but he had been on making very few public appearances for the past months, and Gohan. Of course, Gohan had to work, because Bulma was attending the trial, which explained his absence.

While they were waiting for the verdict, the various reporters all quickly gave an update to their viewers, while others quickly turned to one celebrity or another for a quick interview. Meanwhile, Yolal himself simply sat in his seat, waiting for the judgement.

Finally the jury returned, their representative handing a paper, which held their judgement. A command later, everyone in the courtroom was standing, waiting, as the judge read the charges once again.

"Mister Karim Yolal, the charges laid out against you are as follows; that you, willingly and knowing of the illegality of your actions, disobeyed a direct order from the mayor of Satan City, ordering a city-wide evacuation. You have pled guilty to these charges and have requested that those who followed your order do not be tried since they were not performing insubordination, but following your orders. The jury has agreed to your request, for they have not broken the law themselves."

An obvious breath of relief from Yolal; shared by some of his officers sitting behind him, before the judge continued.

"The jury finds you guilty of the above-mentioned charges and has decided upon the verdict. Taking into account your guilty plea, your high level of cooperation in this trial and the circumstances of your decision, the jury has decided to give you the minimum punishment for your offences. For a total of six months, including the past two months, you will be prohibited from any form of law-enforcement. Along with this, you will be removed from your position as police commissioner of Satan City, not being allowed to retake this position. This is the jury's decision."

The gathered crowd suddenly started clapping, in agree with the decision. Videl had almost joined the others who were whooping, celebrating the low punishment.

XxX

The bright light of the setting sun got in Sharpener's eye, blinding him for a second. Nevertheless, he continued his movement, narrowly evading a fist-sized rock that flew past his head, before sending his left fist out and hit a second, white, rock. The second rock turned due to the punch and flew off to the side. It disappeared in a blur while Sharpener was busy evading a third rock.

Only three days remained before the teenagers would be leaving, and this was the second-to-last training that Sharpener would have with Gohan, unless the blond cold convince the superwarrior to help him out at the Orange Star High Boxing Club. While Gohan had said he would give the idea some thought, Sharpener was forced to focus on the training he was enduring now.

Because Erasa was busy cooking dinner for that night and Chichi and Videl were sparring once again, it was safe for Gohan to employ this training method: he was throwing several rocks at Sharpener to force the boxer to evade at high speed, while using his faster-then-sound movement to catch the rocks that he had thrown, re-appear before his friend and throw again.

This meant that with only three rocks – two normal, one white – Gohan could keep up a barrage matching that of most close-range boxers in speed. The white rock had a different purpose then the two normal ones. Whenever it was thrown, it was Sharpener's task to punch the white rock, while not getting hit. The training was intended to increase his ability to see through a barrage of punches and grab his chances of a counterattack, even if the opponent would keep up their assault.

Finally, after the twelfth set of five-minute dodging and countering, Sharpener was allowed a rest. Gohan came to sit next to him, glancing at the weights that were still on Sharpener's wrists. As per Gohan's orders – at Sharpener's own suggestion – the blond had taken to wearing wrist - and shin - weights at all times, putting a constant demand on his arms and legs. When he was allowed to take them off, he would be a lot faster and stronger then before.

"So, what's up next?" Sharpener enquired, propping himself up on his elbows as he lay on the ground.

"Well, you have a seven minute break for now then we're going to do some more deep-water sparring. Seven sets of about four minutes each with a one minute break in between, and then it'll be time to go back home."

Deep-water sparring, as they had come to call it, was a sparring match between the two men held in the lake, while the water reached their waists. The water slowed down the movement of the lower body, making sidestepping or locking a punch down extremely difficult. it basically meant that their sparring would consist of trading punches, while trying to manoeuvre around in the water.

"Ah damn, I'm gonna end up with bruises again… oh well, I'll survive." Sharpener took a deep sigh before lying down completely, focusing himself on regaining his breath.

"Oh right, what did you get for Goten's birthday tomorrow?" Gohan asked after several minutes of silence, now juggling with the three rocks.

"It's a surprise." Sharpener simply said, not even looking up. "Oh right, I just remembered; did you find out who you think is hotter between Erasa and Videl yet?"

"Say what?!" The three rocks dropped to the ground, one causing Gohan to curl up into a foetal position as it landed in his groin, but the half-saiyan quickly recovered.

"Yeah, a while back I asked you that question and you didn't have an answer, I'm wondering if you got one now."

"Well…" the hesitation was obvious, as Gohan's eyes were moving all over the area and he suddenly started to grab blades of grass to give his hands something to do. "I… don't know. They're both really pretty…"

"Well, at least that's some progress. Anything else?" Sharpener sat back up, a grin on his face as he looked at his friend.

"Well… ehm… gosh, this is really strange, you know, talking about someone like that…"

"Gohan, we're guys! Half the conversations guys have when they're alone consist of judging girls on their appearance, so get used to it. Just go!"

"Well, if you say so… let me think. Erasa has a very nice body, with everything being really… nice." Gohan's face grew crimson as he talked of his friend in such a way, but Sharpener merely nodded, his grin still in place, and asked about Videl.

"Well, her body isn't as nice as Erasa's, but she's got pretty amazing legs. They're really long and strong and look really nice too. Aside from that, she's got a confident aura as well…" Gohan said, "B-but Erasa has that feeling of a really cute and nice girl, which is really good too." He hastily added, much to the amusement of his blond friend.

Sharpener stopped grinning, looking at his friend for a few seconds, before he broke out laughing again.

"Damn, I must really be one hell of a teacher, huh? To think you picked up on everything so fast. You're really making me proud!" The joke was accompanied by a bemused ruffling of Gohan's hair, causing both to grin again.

"There's that." Gohan started, ready to make a retort of his own, "Or it could just be that they're both really hot."

Exchanging grins, the two teens completely lost themselves, the sound of their laughter ringing clear across the lake they were facing.

XxX

"Hey, can one of you muscle-heads help me out here!" Chichi yelled out of the kitchen's window to the crowd that was sitting outside. After some quick exchanges of glances, Tien stood up and disappeared into the house, helping Chichi carry the abnormally large birthday cake.

Goten, the birthday-boy, was currently rolling around in a wrestling match with Trunks, with Vegeta and Krillin keeping an eye on the two boys. Should things get out of hand, the two experienced warriors would be able to quickly stop the fight.

Meanwhile #18 was sitting with Marron, Bra and Erasa, chatting with each other, while Sharpener had snuck off and was now talking to Yamcha about baseball. Sharpener was, after all, a fan of the sport and Yamcha was considered the best player in the world. The Ox King was sitting at a table, enjoying his drink while talking with Chiaotzu, almost gossip-like.

The arrival of another jet – a model that Videl hadn't seen before, but was currently being tested – signalled the arrival of Bulma Briefs herself. So far, Videl had spent most of the day with Gohan, just hanging out and talking to each other.

Bulma had been late due to a meeting at work, which was why Vegeta and their two children were already present. As Bulma capsulized the jet, Tien walked out of the house, carrying a cake so insanely large that it barely fitted through the door.

Twenty minutes later, Goten had ripped through his gifts while devouring a large piece of cake. He had gotten, among other things, a new training suit from Master Roshi – though the old pervert couldn't attend the celebration himself, due to being forbidden from coming anywhere near Chichi's house under punishment of extreme pain – so Krillin had delivered it. Krillin had given a Bo staff very much like Goku's, only without the magical ability to grow. But the prize-winning gift had been from Bulma; a complete set of the newly-produced Saiyaman and Androids Battle Set.

The set was a new production of Capsule Corporation, to cash in on the fight between Saiyaman and the androids. The android figures were all highly detailed, as was Saiyaman, but the biggest surprise were the four extra figures that came with the set. A highly detailed Videl Satan doll, a somewhat detailed but still recognizable Sharpener doll – complete with long blond hair and rippling muscles – and a barely recognizable Krillin. Knowing that Krillin didn't want to get into the spotlight too much, his figure had been changed to be only a bit smaller then the androids, rather then his realistic size.

"Oh right, I hadn't told you guys yet, had I?" Bulma said when she had gathered Videl, Sharpener and Krillin around her. "I had to act fast, so I only made a quick call to Videl's agent, but you're all getting a five-percent cut of the profit, since several of the figures are based on you. I had to act fast to get the rights, so I couldn't really discuss it through and through with you, but I hope that'll be enough for you."

"I'm an action figure!" Sharpener was nearly dancing for joy as he held his own figure, while Videl and Erasa laughed. Before long he sat down next to Goten and Trunks, joining in the re-building of the Saiyaman battle. Sharpener was playing his own part – which he tried to increase, but was always rewarded with the boys killing him off – while Goten was Saiyaman and Trunks played the androids. Within minutes a dispute between the boys about who was winning caused them to abandon the action figures and again wrestle each other to the ground.

Finally, Sharpener was saved by Gohan, who told him it was time for another spar. This caught the attention of the others, who were all sitting around to watch the match, much to Sharpener's humiliation. By now he was able to get Gohan to go down a few times, but he still lost miserably, although the others did congratulate him on his skills. It wasn't long before Videl made a very formal request of Krillin, Yamcha and Tien to spar with her as well.

And, as it somehow always happened when the Z-fighters met up, the entire party turned into a combat ground before long; spars and mock-battles appearing everywhere. The only break was when Chichi had called out for dinner, but the many fighters were quick to return to their spars after the food was digested.

At the end of the evening, Videl was incredibly sore, bruised all over and generally exhausted, but that was nothing compared to her frustration; she had spared against Yamcha, Krillin, Tien and even #18 but she had been unable to win any of the matches. Always her opponents managed to counter her attacks, evade her surprises and make her land on her back, winning the match.

It was only late in the evening – far beyond the children's normal bedtime – that everyone finally left. Bulma had informed Gohan that she had made the arrangements for the party in a few weeks time, when Videl and the others weren't anywhere near. But for some reason, Vegeta had been uncharacteristically silent all evening, mostly sitting at the table, looking at the others and not saying anything.

Knowing her husband's mood like no-one else, Bulma had waited until they were on the way back home before she started questioning him. With the children fast asleep in the backseat, this was as private a conversation as they'd ever be able to have.

"So, Vegeta, what's eating you? You've been lost in thought all afternoon; it's not really like you."

"It's the brat." The prince started, still staring out the window. "For years now I've been trying to convince him to keep up his training, not to get lazy or complacent, but he's always ignored my advice. I've been telling him that training is in a Saiyan's blood, but he ignores me. I've even tried to point out the benefits of it, but he still doesn't listen, no matter what I say. Even if I say that training will help him relax, control himself and have fun – for lack of a better term – he doesn't listen."

Vegeta stopped looking out the window and instead looked at the reflection of his sleeping children in the mirror, a strange look on his face.

"I even forced myself to do nothing when those androids arrived, hoping that a battle that dangerous would remind him of the need to train, but it was all for naught. He was battered, beaten, bruised and injured but still he refuses to train! But now… I come here, to this meaningless celebration, and see what I find; the brat is training with, of all things, a pathetically weak human boy. There's no challenge in it, nothing to gain, but even so he is performing training, keeping control over his body. It… it infuriates me."

The very fact that Vegeta was ranting like this meant that it was something that was bothering him a great deal. Bulma could very well understand it; her husband had always considered Saiyans as a superior race to humans, due to their ability to fight so much better, but now a human had reached a goal he himself couldn't. And it was an ordinary, run of the mill, weakling human, not someone like Krillin or Yamcha. If it had been any of them, Vegeta would have been able to begrudgingly accept it, because they were powerful warriors. But this was done by a normal weakling child.

Bulma had to stop herself from making a jab against her husband's Saiyan-Superiority-Complex, because if she made such a remark now, he would really be hurt. So instead, she settled for being a voice of reason.

"Well dear, I was surprised as well that Gohan was doing that had to do with fighting, but have you considered this; Gohan is training, because he doesn't _have_ to. You want to force him to train, give him a goal to train for, but Gohan doesn't need that. But now, Gohan is doing something he's never been able to do with us; he's hanging out with a friend his own age, having fun. Who knows, maybe working with that Sharpener kid will help him realize that you're right and he should continue his training on a more serious level, but for now… he's enjoying himself by hanging out with a close friend. That's not something you or I can ever imitate for him."

A soft grumble as Vegeta made a nearly inaudible reply, while he turns his head to stare out to window once again. Bulma doesn't respond. Her husband needs time now, not more conversation.

XxX

"Vi, you really need to change the underwear you have…" Erasa announced as she emptied her best friend's underwear drawer. "All I see are boxers and boring panties, not one thong or cute piece of lingerie."

"And what exactly does my highly practical choice of underwear have anything to do anything at all? It's not like anyone else is going to see what I wear underneath my shorts you know."

"But what if it does happen? If you get a boyfriend and you get, you know, to that point, you'll be wearing really boring underwear. It's known to be a mood-killer you know."

"Say's you." Videl finally turned around to look at her friend, a slightly bored but otherwise neutral expression on her face. "If I go that far with a guy and he still cares about what I wear under my shorts, he doesn't even deserve to be lying next to me."

"But Vi…"

"No buts."

"If you carry on with this underwear, it'll look like you have no butt!"

"ERASA!"

"If you wear some more sexy underwear, you'll feel more sexy and guys will be more attracted to you! You'll have no problem whatsoever snagging you-know-who."

"Who do you mean with 'you-know-who' Erasa?" now Videl turned around as a slight blush appeared on her cheeks, but Erasa had still noticed it. "And besides, what does my underwear have anything to do with how attractive guys think I am?"

"It's some strange magical power they all seem to have. They're all attracted like the dumb idiots they really are to girls with sexy underwear, although I really have no idea how they figure that out…"

"Can we just drop this discussion, it's going nowhere fast."

"Oh alright, but seriously, one of these days I'll have to make you wear some cute panties and you'll see the difference for yourself." By now the girls were half-done with their packing, several large suitcases already standing outside the door, where Gohan and Sharpener would carry them downstairs later that afternoon.

"You know, Vi, I'm going to miss this place." Erasa suddenly said some time later, when she was closing the third suitcase.

"I hear ya." Videl agreed, still busy folding everything right to fit into her first suitcase. For some reason, Erasa was able to pack three times as much stuff as Videl, but only take half as long as Videl did… she'd have to ask her friend how she did that later on.

"I was really having a great time here; it's a paradise on earth. Now we'll be going back to the overactive lives and small dishes of the city… it'll be hell, now that I've learned the taste of such great food!" Erasa faked a shudder at the thought of getting used to city food again, but Videl only laughed.

"Stop complaining, you learned how to cook the food from Chichi, you're just as good as she is now."

"Maybe, but I'll still miss being around here. Aside from the food, I'm going to miss being around Gohan and Goten all day long. I mean, we'll still see Gohan at school a lot, but it's just not the same. But on the plus side, we'll get to see Saiyaman in action again!"

"Hmm…" the mention of the superhero distracted Videl, her mind already attempting to return to detective mode now that she was getting ready to return to her home town. While she had been at the Son house, Videl hadn't put any thought into the idea of Saiyaman's identity, but Goten's display in a near-perfect Saiyaman suit had gotten her thoughts back on that track.

Although she knew it was highly unlikely, considering his traumatic experience with using his fighting ability, Videl could not shake the idea that maybe Gohan really was Saiyaman. Gohan was definitely strong, but she couldn't see him flying around and lifting busses quite yet. Still, the thought was there, and Gohan would remain a suspect until proven innocent.

But if he was Saiyaman, what would happen to Videl's feelings? She had now, with a lot of pestering from Erasa, accepted that she had a crush on both the nerdy boy and the undefeatable superhero, but what if they actually turned out to be the same person?

Sure, she liked both of them, but for different reasons. But if they did turn out the same, would she still like them, or -

"WOHOO, IT'S ABOUT FREAKING TIME!"

Before she could turn down that emotional rollercoaster, Videl was forcefully pulled out of her thoughts by Sharpener's loud yell from downstairs, followed by the sound of him dashing up the stairs, Goten hot on his heels.

"Sharpy, what's gotten into you!?" Erasa asked when the door was nearly thrown through the room when Sharpener entered the room with an odd gusto.

"My next match! It's been decided, I got into contact with the coach and he told me!"

"Well, it's about time." Videl said as she forced her suitcase closed. "So, when's the fight and who're you up against?"

"It's the finale of the A-rank tournament; the winner gets to face the champ for sure! And the match is three weeks from now, the day before the costumed party at Capsule Corp."

"Well, at least you'll have a reason to get drunk then eh? You'll either be celebrating your win, or drowning your loss." Erasa sat down on the bed, reaching for the two envelopes Bulma Briefs had personally given her and Videl. Thanks to a phone call and request from Gohan, the three teens were also allowed to come to the party. Now, they only had to decide who they were going to dress up as.

"You still haven't said who you're fighting." Videl remarked.

"Who else? Tomohiko Sawamada, the national rank one of the middleweight division. And once I beat him, the next match is against the champ himself."

XxX

'_Oh man, I'm going to be late!_' Gohan was scolding himself as he rounded the corner to the school. There were only two minutes remaining until the first class started and he wanted to go by his locker to empty most of his bag. '_What a way to start school again._'

"Waah!" Gohan was forced to shift his weight so far back that he fell back, in order to avoid running straight into Sharpener, who was chatting with Erasa and Videl, just outside the gate.

"Hey, easy Gohan. If you rip your clothes before she has a chance to show off with you, Erasa is going to kill you." Sharpener laughed as he pulled Gohan up. Erasa pouted at his side, with a remark of "Hey, I don't show him off to anyone!"

As per Erasa's fashion advice – which Gohan had been lectured about almost daily, until he finally learned how to pick proper clothing himself – Gohan had worn what Erasa had dubbed 'Normal Teen Clothes'; a black t-shirt without any markings, dark-blue jeans and black sneakers. This meant that Gohan's arms were now on display, along with Sharpener's.

Of course, Erasa and Videl were more then used to the sight of the two muscular boys by now, but most of the other students that walked past them couldn't help but gawk a bit.

"Well, now that you're here as well, let's go. The entire school has to gather in the auditorium first, the principal's going to make a welcome back speech. Then we can restart classes." Erasa grabbed the arms of both boys, walking in between them, as Videl marched them right up to the gate.

The school building had been rebuilt almost exactly the same as it had been, although the school grounds had been outfitted with a wider sports field and the building had been given an extra floor for the teachers to do their out-of-class work in peace.

At the sight of the four teens walking through the school's gate, many of the others turned to keep looking. They were, without a doubt, the most famous group in the school. With a national hero, a national-ranking boxer, the hottest girl in the school and the smartest guy in one group, it was easily explained. What wasn't so easily explained, however, were the more-then-interested glances that almost every girl in the area was giving Sharpener and Gohan.

"Aah, it feels good to be gawked at again, doesn't it?" Sharpener said, causing the others to snicker and grin while they made their way to the auditorium. School had once again commenced, their vacation was now officially over.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

As always, thanks to my beta Kushin-eX for going over this chapter and correcting my mistakes.

Khaos974 made a valid point in a review last chapter pointing out that CC would already have the technology needed to detect energy, thanks to stuff like the Scouter. In canon, Raditz' scouter (which is the only one ever in human hands) was destroyed before Bulma could make more. There was never a need to re-create this technology, since all the Earth's fighters could sense (which was more accurate then a scouter). And even if they did recreate it; Scouters only detect an energy level.

The point of Gohan's new research idea is to discover WHERE Energy comes from, not how to measure it. I hope this clears it up for you (and anyone else who was wondering) and if not; feel free to send me a PM to ask for more explanation on this subject.


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ universe or anything related to it.

* * *

Fortunately, the speech that had been held by the principal was a short one, in which she stated her relief that all her students had safely returned, her gratitude to the multiple factions for quickly restoring the school and most of the city to working order before finishing up by saying that the students would have to put in their best efforts to repay the builders and make up for the two months of school they had missed.

Overall, it was so much like the usual speeches that the principle gave, that by the end only Gohan, Sharpener Videl and a handful of other students were still paying attention. Based on the look on some of the teachers' faces, the fact that Sharpener was still paying attention at the end was a surprise for them, since he had before been one of the first to hang back and start napping.

This change had, much to their surprise, continued all throughout the day; in every class they had, Sharpener paid attention, taking notes on what the teacher said and other activities he had never done before. It was a sharp contrast to Erasa who was sitting at his side; it hadn't even taken her an hour before falling back into her old habits, chatting to everyone in the class, sending text messages to her friends and only paying minimal attention to the teachers. Yet, whenever they asked her a question, she always knew the answer, again much to their surprise.

After the first three classes – English, French and Math, Erasa's worst subjects normally – none of their classmates even looked surprised when she also answered every question asked in their Geography-class. After that it was at long last lunch-break.

Gohan, Videl and Sharpener had gone to a quieter place where they could enjoy their lunch without everyone showing up – the android battle and subsequent toy line had given Videl and Sharpener a big boost in popularity, much to their combined annoyance – and Gohan could eat his small lunch. Or at least small for his standards; five extra-large sandwiches, a serving of rice and chicken and half a chicken. Compared to what the boy ate back home, it was simply a small snack.

Erasa, however, had separated from her three best friends to eat lunch with some of her other friends, whom she hadn't seen for three months. As usual when she was eating with 'The Girls' rumors, gossip and general chatter were more important then the food itself. It hadn't even taken ten minutes for Erasa to be up-to-date on all the relationships in the school, who liked who, which persons had made idiots out of themselves and how and, most importantly, the biggest news issues that Erasa had missed while at Gohan's house.

Most of it wasn't too important; celebrity A had been cheating on celebrity B with celebrity C and so on, but there was something that stood out; no-one even mentioned the robbery – and violent stopping of it – in South City Mall from some time ago. Even when she made a careful enquiry all that the others had known was that there had been an attempted robbery at South City Mall and it had been prevented, but nothing further was mentioned.

This struck Erasa as particularly odd; not only was Videl involved in it – which would make it instant news – but a known friend of her had gone on a clear violent streak based on revenge. There was no way the tabloids would ever let that go; it was the perfect excuse to claim Videl had a secret boyfriend, which would skyrocket sales. Videl had never been seen with a boyfriend, thanks to her father's well-known rule.

There was only one thing the blond could think of; someone had successfully silenced the media about the event. But there were very, very few people who could stop something like that from reaching the media. More then likely, either Bulma Briefs or Hercule – maybe even both – had stepped in and silenced the affair.

"Aargh, I really have sooo much homework left to do…" Tifanny's voice pulled Erasa out of her short moment of thought. "Can you believe how much they made us do while the school was ruined? I, like, haven't even finished half of it and they're already piling on more."

"Yeah, like, totally. I mean, what did they expect from us? That we did schoolwork every single day or something? I had, like, a million other things to do." Rosa added, also sighing.

"If you want, you guys can copy my homework, I've finished everything." Erasa offered, before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"What? How'd you do that? It was, like, seventy pages of writing!? For every subject!" The others all asked, dumbfounded looks on their faces at the statement. Usually, Erasa was right with them concerning homework; three days behind.

"Well, when I was at Gohan's place we didn't really have much to do, so we did some homework every day. I've finished pretty much all the homework for the rest of the year."

Suddenly there was complete silence at the table as everyone stared at Erasa with wide eyes and open mouths. Only when the words had left her mouth and everyone had reacted did Erasa realize what she had just said and, more importantly, what it insinuated. It wouldn't even take five minutes for the entire school to hear THAT little rumor…

"Ah phooey…"

XxX

Fifth period chemistry was, to Gohan, an incredibly boring experience. All his four classes so far he had shared with Videl, Erasa and Sharpener, but they weren't present for chemistry. Until they had left, the half-Saiyan had never realized just how used he had become to their presence during the two months they had stayed together. Sure, they had frequently been separated, but when they had Gohan had always had the distraction of his work at Capsule Corporation, which kept his full attention.

This chemistry class had no such luck; all they did was elementary chemistry, which was as boring to Gohan as watching grass grow. Already he was itching to go out and train with Sharpener – it was the time of their after-lunch training now – or do something productive, but there was no way he was getting out of class.

Looking around once more, Gohan was reminded of the complete lack of distractions in the room as well. Thanks to Sharpener's 'teachings' Gohan had now begun to understand the attraction of the opposite sex, but there were no girls in the class today; the two that were usually present had both called in sick earlier. But most of all, he missed talking with Sharpener. The blond boxer had almost constantly been at his side while he was back home, always ready to make a joke or have a serious conversation.

As Gohan was staring out of the window, he suddenly saw the shadow of the teacher floating over him, more then likely ready to grill him for spacing off in class. Before the older man opened his mouth though, his eyes fell upon Gohan's notes.

Although they contained nothing even remotely related to the subject he was teaching today, they were certainly chemical formulas. As he had been bored, Gohan had written down some of the 'basic' equations for one of the projects that he was running at Capsule Corpse, and it now proved to be his saving grace.

Unknown to Gohan, the chemistry teacher had realized after seeing the second or third formula that he failed to understand half of them. One thing was very clear though; this was far more advanced then anything he had ever taught his classes. With a confused look, the teacher left Gohan to his mindless staring and walked on, much to the amusement of the other students.

XxX

Sharpener, for his part, had had a very average and boring day at school. After lunch he had next to no classes with Gohan – much to his annoyance – and only one or two with Videl and Erasa. Not that it really mattered; he still tried to pay attention as much as he could, answer any questions that were asked and generally try well, despite having finished all his homework already. He did hear something vague about a rumor concerning Gohan and Erasa, but he hadn't gotten the details of it quite yet.

But now, he was back at his old Valhalla, his sanctuary and almost second-home; the Orange Star High Boxing Gym. Gohan was finishing up his last work and would be coming to meet him at the gym, so Sharpener had a few seconds time to prepare the others and do a small greeting. After all, he was the club's captain.

"All right you sissies, that's enough of a tearful reunion." The coach's rough voice interrupted, but with a laugh. "Sharpener, good to see you back with us, the boys were beginning to get soft without you here to remind them what a thrashing is like."

"Yeah, coach, I missed you too." The blond grinned back, already shouldering his backpack. "Want me to get changed? Oh by the way, a friend of mine is coming over in a bit, won't be a problem right?"

"As long as it's not your friend Erasa in another short skirt, I still catch Mike with a dreamy look whenever he thinks about it. We need to focus on training here pal."

"Don't worry, it's not her. It's a guy, I doubt anyone will be distracted in that way."

"Good. Well get changed then."

Five minutes later, Sharpener returned wearing a wife-beater, sweatpants and his boxing gloves tied and swung over his shoulder.

"Now, let me get a look at you boy." The coach walked up to Sharpener, slowly walking around as he observed the changes in his athlete. "Hmm, obvious difference in muscle tone, but no real change in size, you've found your center much better and improved your balance. Good to know that you've been busy kid. Now get ready to show me in the ring. Mike, get ready for a spar. Selim, James, Ryu and Alvin, Simon, Theodore, you all prepare as well!"

Collective groans were heard from the gym members, as everyone had just been ordered to go a few rounds with Sharpener. As the others prepared themselves for the spar, Sharpener turned around to see Gohan standing in the doorway. The coach had also noticed him and was already walking over.

"Coach, may I introduce my good friend Gohan, the man who helped me train while I was gone these two months. Gohan, this is my coach. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get into the ring. I'm itching to go for a few rounds."

As Sharpener nearly jumped into the ring, the coach turned to Gohan, giving a smile and kind look he didn't usually show in the gym.

"Well, you're young but you obviously know what you're doing when training him. I can see the difference in his physical appearance, and now we're going to see his fighting ability. I'd ask you to join us, but I doubt you'd be interested. Am I right?"

"Yes sir, I'm not really interested in professional training for boxing. But how could you tell?"

"I'm an old man that's been doing this for almost thirty years, combined with a decade and a half of fighting myself. You learn to recognize the talented ones and the motivated ones. Shame you don't want to join, with your previous fighting experience and sheer talent, you'll be on the national level within the year, taking on international fighting within five."

Gohan looked flabbergasted at the statement, especially since the elder man had apparently known he had experience from fighting without ever asking. Before he had a chance to ask anything though, the old man gave a quick answer before the fight started.

"When you came in here, you didn't so much as look at the equipment, but immediately sized everyone up. It's a habit every fighter develops and it's very hard to get rid of. Don't worry though; I won't make you try if you don't want to. A guy like you is far too stubborn to be coaxed into liking something you don't. Now excuse me, but I've got to pay attention to this."

In the ring, Sharpener had taken his basic stance, while his opponent had tightened his guard and prepared to rush in. Bouncing on the balls of his feet, Sharpener moved forward and backward before making a feint and luring Mike into an attack. As the amateur-boxer stepped forward, Sharpener's left hand quickly rained down on his guard, forcing it open within seconds. Before Mike could even recover, Sharpener's right straight made contact with his face, forcing it back, followed by a left body-blow and a right to the chin.

The usually tough fighter was down less then twenty seconds into the first round, causing such silence to descend upon the gym that even taking a breath sounded like an explosion. Mike may not have been a pro boxer, but he was very sturdy and could take a lot of hits before going down.

"Next, Selim get in there!"

The second opponent, a boy from Gohan and Sharpener's class, stepped into the ring and immediately began bouncing on his feet as well. Quickly matching Sharpener's rhythm, the lighter boy stepped to the side, his left flying forward, but Sharpener was quicker with his sidestep and even quicker with his jab. Despite wearing headgear, the look on Selim's face still changed when he felt the impact of that jab.

Moving quickly, he managed to evade the next series of jabs by stepping aside, but Sharpener's assault didn't give any time for a counter and suddenly Sharpener's right fist made contact with Selim's belly. The many high jabs had been a setup to distract the boy, allowing for a sudden hit on the body. What was worse; upon stumbling back from the body-blow, Selim suddenly found himself backed in to the corner. Before he could respond, Sharpener had punched him in the chin, on the liver and finished it up with a left to the temple.

Selim was knocked out in less then forty seconds.

By now, everyone in the gym except for Gohan was extremely wide-eyes, but no-one more then the coach himself. Even Sharpener looked surprised at just how much he had improved against his club-members. Before he would also win, but with difficulty. This was like playing around.

The Coach's eyes however had gone wide for another reason entirely; he had just noticed that, despite his speed, Sharpener still had the wrist and ankle-weights of about four kilograms each attached. Suddenly the old man's eyes shot over to Gohan.

"This… is not at all like what I had planned to change while he was gone, but… I have to admit it does fit his natural abilities perfectly. Can I maybe persuade you to join us as a coach instead of a boxer?"

But Gohan was already gone, having given a quick wave to Sharpener after he had KO'd his second opponent.

XxX

A few hours after dinner Videl was in the gym that was build into the house, doing her usual evening-training with the other fighters present. After her normal warm-up – consisting of going through several maneuvers, running on a treadmill and some minor weight exercises – the raven-haired fighter was now in the fighting ring, facing her father's students.

So far, Videl had fought against four out of the twenty present students, all of whom she had fought several times before. But now, there was a massive difference from the last few times they had fought; back then, Videl had fought long, difficult and dragged out fights to reach a victory or a draw, but now she had won each fight within five minutes by a clear KO.

The fifth fighter had already stepped into the ring; the massive, muscular frame of Rand – one of her father's favored students – prepared himself for the fight. Despite his huge size, the bald man was surprisingly fast, which had won him more then one match. After a formal bow, both fighters crouched down into their stance.

Videl was the first to rush forward, knowing just how skilled Rand was in keeping the fight under control if he got his way. Moving in low, Videl punched the man in his stomach where his iron-strong abdominal muscles absorbed the hit. The second punch, aimed just below the ribs, wasn't so easily stopped. As Rand gasped, Videl followed up with an uppercut to the chin, a knee in the stomach, an elbow in the neck and finally finished it up with a spin-kick to the bald man's neck.

If Videl didn't know for certain that her father had ordered his students to fight her with everything they got, she could have sworn that they had been allowing her to win. Almost three years ago, when Videl had first started fighting her father's students, they had held back, afraid to suffer Hercule's wrath upon hurting his little girl. When the champ saw just how they were holding back, he had stopped the fight and proceeded to yell at everyone present that they had to fight with everything they got.

Videl had to 'learn how to fight opponents, tougher, stronger, faster, smarter and more experienced then her' and after all there was 'no better place for her to learn then here, where the teaching was safe!' her father had said, only to finish with 'So stop holding back and pound her! If my little girl is going to be fighting criminals, I'll damn well have her being the best fighter she can be!'

Since then, her father's students had always provided her with difficult, intense fights and more often then not defeated her. But not today. Today, no matter who she fought, Videl moved nimbly past every attack, saw every strike coming and by her glare alone unnerved her opponents.

Another fighter stepped up, his feet already flying to dodge Videl's assaults; she returned her attention to the fight. Matching her opponent's speed step for step, Videl still managed to close the distance, but got hit by a knee to the face. Unflinching, Videl countered by striking her opponent in the solar plexus. A short combo later this opponent also fell down.

Straightening up, Videl prepared for her next opponent. Striking at critical areas really did make a difference, she had now fully realized. But so far, she had only really practiced with Chichi and every opponent had a different body. So now, Videl was preparing to fight for as much experience as she could.

Her next opponent already stood prepared, so Videl charged forward with another glare on her face.

XxX

The hallway was empty, as almost everything else in this hideout. Only Styring Behersk was walking through the hallway, right by the side of the floating chair that held the Doctor. The two men were checking up on their different research subjects.

"As you can see, Mr. Behersk, most of the work is done now." The Doctor said, waving at some of the cells. "In some cases, some minor modifications are still needed to reach maximum performance, but overall we are ready to fulfill your plans. When are we going to begin?"

"Not for quite some time yet, Doctor. There are certain festivities going to happen soon, we will begin executing our plans when those festivities are completed." Styring answered, looking into one of the cells as he spoke.

"Would that not be the best time to strike, keeping your 'grand plan' into account?" The Doctor replied, the reference to Styring's plan was very cynical.

"At a first thought it might appear so, Doctor, but I disagree with you." Styring said, catching up with the Doctor's floating chair again. "You see, as you yourself said, some minor adjustments have to be made before we can begin. After that, I wish to run some more research and checks on the estimations of our battle prowess. As you know, there are certain individuals who can provide a dangerous obstacle. We must prepare for them as well."

"My upgraded androids will provide more then a match to any biological entity who opposes them."

"As you also believed your previous androids were invincible? Before, you faced a series of opponents who defeated your opponents. Or have you already forgotten them?" To prove his point, Styring pulled out a series of photos, indicating the people who had fought the androids.

"This blond boy is Sharpener Pencil, a professional boxer. But he wasn't a threat to your previous androids. This girl is Videl Satan, a world-famous, high-class fighter who defeated your previous #1. I have no doubt your new series will be superior to her either. It is these three that worry me; Saiyaman, an unknown black-haired man and blond woman. They each easily outclassed your androids, defeating at least one of them. I have not yet managed to find nay information on them. As long as we do not know who they are, if there are more like them and how we can defeat them, we cannot strike with confidence."

"I assure you, my androids are significantly stronger then before, they will not –" Anger was clear in his voice, but the Doctor wasn't allowed to finish his protest.

"Aside from that!" Styring interfered, earning a death look from his associate. "Let the people enjoy their parties and festivities, while we continue our work to perfection. After all… once we start, there won't be anything to celebrate for a long, _long_ time…"

XxX

As Sharpener returned home late that evening, the street lanterns already burning brightly and blocking out all the stars. The sky was, after the many runs in the mountains, oddly empty. Nevertheless, Sharpener had completed his usual evening-run in a high pace. Taking the stairs up to his floor, Sharpener was suddenly signaled by one of his flat-mates.

"Yo Sharp, how's it hanging?" Matt asked, giving the blond boxer a high-five as he drained his beer. "Hey, listen dude, you got some company. Your dad came over about an hour ago, along with someone else. Big dude and really rude. He didn't even say hi or introduce himself. Asshole. Well, anyway, since I know your pops, I let them into your room. Old man said he was waiting for you. Thought I'd give you a heads-up."

"Yeah, thanks dude." Sharpener said, grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen sink. "Mind if I borrow a towel of yours so I can wipe off my sweat? I'll bring it back cleaned tomorrow."

"Sure thing dude, don't worry 'bout it. Well, gotta go, I'll be online all night. There's this major raid I'm organizing. Care to join?"

"Maybe later, I'll have to see what my dad wants first. Thanks for the towel."

As he walked to his room at the end of the hall, Sharpener used the towel he had just borrowed and wiped his face clean. Meanwhile, his mind was racing to worry about what it was his dad would want. Sure, he hadn't talked to him for a few months, but he had let his mom – and by extension his dad – know where he would be going.

To his surprise, the door was locked from the inside, so Sharpener still had to use his key to open it. Just as Sharpener had thought, his father was sitting in the chair Sharpener usually watched TV from, his cane leaning against the chair. Someone else, who was wearing a long cloak – very odd clothing, considering they weren't in the sixteenth century anymore – was sitting on the loveseat.

"Son," Parer Pencil started, rising from the chair to offer his son a hand. Sharpener didn't return the gesture, not shaking his father's hand. Even so, Parer didn't even look surprised at the reaction. "We have something important to discuss today, otherwise we wouldn't have shown up here."

As he spoke, Parer pointed his cane at the second person, who raised big hands to lower the hood of the cloak.

Recognition spread across Sharpener's face along with shock, but he immediately took his father's offer to sit down in the chair, as Parer sat down next to his associate on the loveseat. Both Pencils took a deep breath, before Sharpener spoke up.

"Alright then dad, talk."

* * *

As always, much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter.

As always, please leave a review letting me know what you think.


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

* * *

Despite everything Gohan had gone through in his life so far – death, battles, intergalactic travel, murder, arrogance and much more – nothing could have prepared the boy for what happened when he returned to school the next morning. There had been little going on when he had entered the school, but by the time he had reached his locker, apparently word had gotten around that he was in the school, because he found almost half the male students waiting for him in the hallway.

Before he could even process what they were all doing there, the large group noticed him and immediately started shouting at him. The shouts overlapped with each other, causing a confusing sound wave that couldn't be understood at all, deafening to the senses. Apparently, some of the oldest boys in the group – classmates of Gohan's – realized that they were making no sense and gestured for silence.

When the group was relatively quiet, the leaders of the group spoke up.

"Gohan, we are here to officially announce that you are now the unofficial king of the school." One started, surprising Gohan and making him wonder just what exactly what was going on. "You are now, to the rest of the student body, both our god and supreme lord, our leading example and the one we all strive to be like."

"Wha?" Gohan's reply was, even by his usual standards when faced with witty situations, very unintelligent.

"You have done the one thing we had deemed impossible for a single man to do." Another boy added. "Two impossible things, actually."

"What on earth are you all taking about?" the confused boy asked, but another storm of

"Dude, you did it man, like really DID IT! With Videl _and_ Erasa… you fucking rock." One voice suddenly yelled, above the others.

"Yeah man, you got Videl, who never displayed ANY attention to dudes, into the sack! And that super-babe Erasa as well, you are the MAN!" A second voice added.

"And both at the same time too, you're double-dating the two most sought-after babes in the school, with their permission. How can we call you anything but a god?" An unknown third voice finalized.

"WHAT!" Gohan yelled, but it was already too late; the group quickly disappeared as class was about to start, most moving past Gohan and most of them gave him a quick tap on the shoulder or a shouted their congratulations.

"This can't be good…"

XxX

'_Ah shit, I'm late! Robinson's gonna kill me for this!_' Sharpener cursed as he dashed through the empty hallways. _'__Damned __traffic-jams'_

An apology was already half-formed on his lips when Sharpener burst into class, panting heavily. He had dashed for almost five minutes straight, from the bus stop until the school, and it showed. However, as Sharpener burst into history-class, he immediately noticed something was wrong. The students all sat together, whispering furiously, with a lot of people giving looks to Gohan, Videl and Erasa. In fact, Mr. Robinson didn't even give any reaction to Sharpener's late entry.

"Sorry I'm late sir," Sharpener spoke up as he closed the door, "There was a large traffic jam because of some roadwork and my bus got delayed."

"Not a problem Sharpener, now please quickly and quietly take your seat." The teacher said, giving the boy a once-over before returning to writing on the blackboard. The lack of reaction was strange, but then again, there was still a lot of construction work going on all over the city. Maybe the teachers – even stiff-legs like Robinson – understood that and were a bit lenient.

But that still left the question of what exactly was wrong. As Sharpener approached his usual row, he quickly saw there was something else going on; Videl, Gohan and Erasa were all as red as a tomato, each with different expressions on his face. Gohan looked like he wanted to sink into the floor and disappear without being seen ever again, Erasa looked very upset and much like a deer caught in the headlights of a car, while Videl was giving her best glare to the entire room. And, thanks to her new ability to radiate killing intent, her glare chilled everyone who saw her by several degrees. Anyone who approached the young Satan girl now would, more then likely, walk away with several severe injuries.

Carefully, Sharpener sat down between Gohan and Erasa, so that Videl would have to go through Gohan if she snapped because of something the boxer would say. Choosing to be safe rather then sorry, Sharpener sat next to Gohan; he was the only one in the room that could survive an attack by an enraged Videl.

"What's wrong guys; you're all beet red." Sharpener asked, quiet enough to avoid being heard by the teacher.

"It's terrible…" Gohan muttered so softly that Sharpener could barely hear it, while Videl muttered a 'Don't wanna talk about it' just as quiet, but far more deadly-sounding. Erasa turned an even deeper shade of red, almost ready to burst into tears.

"It's horrible; I screwed up so badly yesterday, it's all my fault!" She suddenly let out, loud enough for the class to hear. Down by the board, Mr. Robinson turned around for a second, glared at Erasa and then turned around to finish making his notes for the lecture.

"So, what happened? And be quiet, or Robinson's gonna skin us alive." Sharpener asked with concern in his voice. If it was enough to hurt his three friends like this, he had to know about it.

"Well, yesterday I was at lunch with Angela and the girls," Erasa started, while Gohan tried to sink even deeper into his chair. At the mention of her name, the redhead had turned around and quickly winked at Gohan. "And while we were eating, I told them how I'd finished all my homework for the rest of the year, because we all worked at it together, with Gohan. I let it slip that Videl and I stayed at Gohan's place and before I realized it, the rumors were born; everyone now thinks that Gohan is dating the both of us, has sex with us on a regular basis and more stuff like that…"

"For real?" Sharpener gasped, feeling like he was about to burst out laughing. Gohan, soft, nerdy Gohan – as the rest of the students saw him – regularly getting it on with Videl and Erasa? To Sharpener, who knew all three, the thought was hilarious, but his laughter died when he saw the looks on the faces of the others.

"Did you tell them I was there also?"

"I tried to tell them what had really happened, but after I slipped up, no-one was listening any more… before lunch was even over, the rumors had grown beyond belief. So I told them you were also there, but they apparently ignored that."

"Just what the hell are you wearing?" Videl suddenly growled at the blond, having raised her head enough to give him a look. Sharpener was, completely unlike him, wearing a heavy leather jacket, with several zippers on it. It completely went against the blonde's normal style, since he was usually dedicated to show off and tan his arms as much as possible.

"Yeah, now that Vi mentions it, where'd you get the jacket? Looks nice though."

"Thanks." Sharpener said, pulling the jacket off and placing it over the back of his chair. "Wanna try it on? It's surprisingly comfortable and not too warm or cold, even in this hot weather."

"I look like I'd drown in it." Erasa giggled, thought she did feel the fabric for a bit. "So, where'd you suddenly get it from?"

"Last night, when I came home from my evening run, my dad was suddenly waiting for me in my apartment. He gave me the jacket as an early birthday gift…" While explaining, Sharpener reached into his bag and got out all the materials he needed for the class. Down below, Robinson was already lecturing about some great war held a couple centuries back.

"Early birthday present?" Videl questioned, "But, isn't your birthday-"

"Yeah, it's a four month's early birthday present…"

XxX

As he walked through the door of his house, Gohan felt ready to crash to the floor in exhaustion. School had been more exhausting then he'd ever imagined it to be, thanks to the many rumors he had to work around. The rumors had not only exhausted the Saiyan teen mentally, but because Videl had also been put on edge by them, she had lashed out at everyone that spoke to her; even her three best friends.

Before Gohan had a chance to fall to the floor in exhaustion, however, he got tackled by two small blurs. Goten and Trunks were sitting up on Gohan's chest, each grinning triumphantly. Gohan looked more confused then actually hurt, since he hadn't expected Trunks to also be there.

"Gohan, Gohan, Gohan, look, look!" Goten shouted in his excitement. "Trunks is gonna be staying over here for the rest of the week, isn't it awesome!"

"Oh great…" Gohan muttered with some degree of sarcasm. This was just what he wanted; another hyperactive little demon to torment him while he was exhausted. Alone, neither Goten nor Trunks were that bad, but when together… As most boys did, the two always tried to one-up each other, which resulted in many pranks, spars and other destructive problems. Not something the exhausted Gohan wanted to work with right now.

A quick look at the clock told Gohan that it was still early enough, not even four o'clock, so he quickly made up his escape.

"Well, that's nice Goten, Trunks." he started, thanking Sharpener once again for the lying lessons. They proved to be more helpful then he could've ever expected. "But I'm not here for long. I have to go put my stuff in my room, then go over to Capsule Corporation. Yeah, I've… got some… eh, right, stuff… to do there."

"Ah phoeyey." Goten said, but a second later he and Trunks were gone, mischievous grins already on their faces. Gohan quickly placed his bag in his room and then flew straight towards Capsule Corp. He hadn't actually planned on doing work today, but anything was better then staying with Goten and Trunks while he was this tired. Besides, he could do some small check-ups while he was there.

As soon as he walked through the balcony door at Capsule Corp – the Z-fighters had long ago stopped using the front door unless necessary, since Bulma's seventh-story balcony door was always open – Gohan was greeted by the same greeting he had suffered back home. This time, though, Bra and Marron sat on his chest, with grins on their faces almost identical to the ones Goten and Trunks had worn when they'd tackled him.

"Hey Uncle Gohan!" Bra piped up, "We're having a sleep over!"

'_Oh great, no matter where I go I'm ambushed by kids having a sleep over._'

"That sounds like fun girls, but could you please get off me? I want to do some work while I'm here."

"Can we come with you?" Marron asked, both girls immediately giving him the puppy-dog eyes. "We never get to see you work, we hardly see you at all!"

No matter how much Sharpener may have taught Gohan about lying and generally being a teenager, he was still completely defenseless against the puppy dog eyes-look. So, a few minutes later, Gohan walked into the R&D department, with two little girls sitting on his shoulders. Despite Gohan's considerable bulk there wouldn't be enough space for the two girls if he didn't also keep his arms raised, so his entrance made quite a comical sight. In fact, he had quite a lot of trouble – and earned more then a few laughs from his colleagues – getting into his office. Finally, Gohan managed to enter by moving sideways.

"Ok, girls, if you want you can play around here, but I'll be reading reports behind my desk while I'm here."

"Ok, we'll be playing over here." The girls said as they placed themselves on the floor and started playing a game only they understood. Gohan opened the latest reports on the different projects that were going on and started reading.

Several of the smaller projects – the ones that Gohan hadn't started himself and didn't actively work on – and nothing noteworthy had happened with them, the progress was slow but steady. Gohan gave a response to every report, giving a few suggestions here or a compliment there, but his main attention was focused on 'The Big Three' as they had been known. The three major projects that Gohan had initiated himself and where he was now taking an active leading role in.

The first report he read concerned his near-death experience when experimenting with the prototype of the mobile graviton. After some meetings with the energy-research group after their latest breakthrough, the cause of the problem had been discovered; the energy that Gohan had released when powering himself up gave off physical force, conflicting with the rotation of the gyros. Since there were about nine different gyro's all over the body and they all got disturbed, this meant the kinetic force was increased to the power of nine.

So, they summarized, if it was possible to recreate the suit with only one Gyro, or possible remove the gyro's all together and create a separate gravity-influencing force field, the problems would be solved and the suit would work.

The major breakthrough in the energy research was that, aside from heat and light – both of which were already registered by the satellite camera's – they have now also discovered that energy gave measureable physical force. More importantly to Gohan, however, was the new discovery that there was a measurable chemical reaction inside the muscles just before energy was released. Gohan knew that it wouldn't be long now before a massive breakthrough was reached, he could feel the excitement bubble up. Soon, they could teach anyone and everyone on energy.

If anything, the 'Super-Cycle' project was the only let-down; so far, there had been no major advances into the project yet, the machine was still unstable and had difficulty starting up and slowing down. It did reach a maximum speed that was unprecedented, but if it couldn't turn, accelerate properly or break without exploding, the machine was still useless.

Looking at the clock again, Gohan got up, picked up the now sleeping girls – eventually their boredom had taken over and the two had fallen asleep sitting in the corner – and took them back to Bra's room before going back home. It was almost dinner time, and his mom would throw a fit if Gohan's wasn't back home on time.

XxX

As Erasa cleared the dinner plates from the table she was still looking far more downcast then normal. In fact, throughout the dinner, Erasa had been almost completely silent, something her parents hadn't experienced since the blond had learned to talk. Even when she had been ill, Erasa had tried to talk as much as she could.

"So Sweetie, how long are you going to make me worry about you?" Erasa's mom asked when Erasa was putting the plates in the dishwasher. "What happened to you? When you returned from Gohan's place you were so happy, but one day at school and suddenly you're as silent as a rock."

"It's so stupid!" Erasa said, leaning against a wall as she prepared to tell her mom everything. Unlike some of her classmates, Erasa had a very good relationship with both her parents, always being able to tell them anything she had wanted. Now it was time to seek out some parental advice on a teen's stupid mistake.

"At lunch yesterday, I accidentally let it slip that Videl and I have been staying over at Gohan's house and everyone immediately assumed that both Videl and I are screwing his brains out! So now all the boys either look up to Gohan as some sort of god or they hate his guts, and it's much the same with the girls to Videl and me!"

"That's it? A rumor based on false information?" Erasa's mother asked, her sparkling eyes showing that she actually found the entire situation quite comical. "Sweetie, don't worry; rumors come and go with the week. But honestly, I wouldn't be angry or worried if I was paired up with such a cutie like him."

"Mom, that's not the problem. Gohan's a great guy and he definitely makes any girl go 'Wow!' when she sees him, but Videl is a celebrity! This rumor will live on for ages, maybe even go to some tabloid or another and then all my efforts are ruined. Because there's another thing mom; Videl likes Gohan. Really like – likes him. I think she might even be in love with him, but she'll never admit that. And now, I've messed everything up, just when Gohan was also starting to give off signs that he liked her as well."

"Oh dear," Before she knew what had happened, Erasa was taken up in a loving, smothering hug of her mother's – the woman was famous for giving great hugs – and as they stood on the kitchen floor, the older blond spoke up. "That does make things more complicated, this is the first time Videl's liked a boy since…"

"Donald Gedoh, and that was back in Junior High." Erasa supplied. "Oh, what am I gonna do."

It had always been an ambition of Erasa's to give Videl as much of a normal life as possible, despite being from such a famous family. So she got angry at her best friend when she did something stupid, played jokes on her when she could and had been trying for ages to find the raven-haired girl a boyfriend.

"Hey, how's this?" Erasa's mom suddenly said, another gleam appearing in her eyes as she held her daughter at an arm's length. "You start another rumor, let everyone focus on that and they'll forget all about Videl and Gohan."

"Mom, you're a genius!" Erasa's eyes mirror the gleam of her mother's as the wheels in her head were turning. Sure, Gohan might have been the science and homework genius, but when it came to using a social network, Erasa was nothing short of a prodigy herself. Within seconds she had thought of the perfect rumor to start.

Pulling out her cell phone, she called the third number on quick dial and tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the phone to be picked up. Finally, after what seemed like ages, but what couldn't have been more then a minute at most, the phone was answered. And Erasa immediately had to jerk it away from her ear.

"Sharpener, what the hell is all that noise!"

"Erasa, sorry, you called me while I'm on my evening run. And right now, I'm in one of the more noisy parts of the city parts of the city." The blond on the other end of the line had to yell over the deafening noise. "I figured it'd be urged if you called me at this time of the evening, so I'd better answer it now. So, what's up?" more deafening noise made Erasa wonder what the hell sort of part of the city Sharpener was running at, but she didn't press the issue.

"Sharpy, in order to save Gohan and Videl's chance at romance and their peace of mind, starting tomorrow, the two of us are going to act like we're a couple. And we're going to give them lots of stuff to talk about."

XxX

As she placed yet another costume back, Videl couldn't help but let out a growl. Why were most of these female outfits so… whorish? After dinner, Videl had left the house to go find a costume shop. After two shops that only sold children's outfits, she had finally found a costume shop she could use. But now, there was the issue of every single female piece of clothing showing way too much skin for her preference.

And she couldn't simply just pick a basic costume and go with that, she wanted something that would impress Gohan, make her catch his eye.

'_Sheesh, listen to me, wanting to catch his eye… what happened to you Videl, you used to be so independent.'_ But what had happened was all to easy to know; she had developed the same feelings every other girl her age got. And out of the three men her eye had fallen on, Gohan was the most realistic and only un-masked choice she really had.

'_And he's definitely the cutest out of the three.'_ She silently admitted to herself. The Commander, who she now thought about with a mix of dislike and attraction, was anything but cute, and Saiyaman was… well his helmet could have made him cute, but it was more hilarious then really cute, unlike Gohan's dorkiness.

After discarding another three costumes without even trying them on, labeled as belonging to the Final Fantasy franchise, - _'How can people call these clothes? My body would be better hidden in my underwear!'_ – when suddenly Videl's phone went off.

Checking the caller id before answering, Videl saw Erasa's picture on the screen and quickly picked up.

"Hey Erasa, what's up?"

"V, have I got the perfect idea for you!" the bubbly blond all but shouted, forcing Videl to keep the phone away from her ear.

"Erasa, calm down, what're you talking about?"

"That whole ordeal with the rumor of both of us sleeping with Gohan, that's what I'm talking about."

"You mean all the trouble that you caused by _starting_ that rumor?" Videl's voice was filled with more then a bit of venom. Erasa was a great friend, but sometimes, Videl wished she wouldn't lose her head so much when it came to gossip. If she'd have kept ten seconds of cool and explained the situation properly and in the right way, the entire situation could have been avoided.

"I told you I'm sorry about that!" Erasa said for what felt like the millionth time. "But this is going to make up for all that; everyone is going to leave you totally alone!"

"And what exactly would this master plan be?"

"Starting tomorrow, Sharpy and I are going to act like we're the most lovey-dovey, sick-making couple to ever walk the earth. Everyone will be so drawn by the act the two of us put on; they'll leave you and Gohan alone!"

"And Sharpener agreed to this?" Videl asked with a mixture of sarcasm and amusement. "Because I remember the last time he had a girlfriend. Angelina broke up with him because he never wanted to display affection in public. He even had difficulty just holding hands with her."

"Vi, he was fifteen back then." Erasa defended. "And yeah, he's already agreed to help me out. Trust me; we're going to make you sick!"

"Just so you know; the moment you two start tongue-wrestling, I'm leaving the room."

"Oh, we won't do anything that bad; we're just putting on a show." Erasa guaranteed, "But Vi, promise me that you won't waste all the alone-time we're going to provide. You have to promise to get close to Gohan, alright? Sharpy and I will be busy a lot, so you two will have lots of alone time, use it to get him to like you back. Pretty please?"

XxX

A week after Erasa had started her bold 'master plan', Videl was more then pleased to say that it was working. Sharpener had, in Videl's opinion, thrown himself remarkably well into the role of over affectionate boyfriend, always walking with one hand around Erasa, or at last a hand on her arm or shoulder.

It made Videl want to puke.

But, at the same time, it gave her – and Gohan – a lot more free time, so she could live with that. And Videl met up with Erasa enough outside of school to still hang out with her best friend when she wasn't acting – in the literal sense of the word – as a total love-struck fool. And with the increasing amounts of time she had spend alone with Gohan, she was only missing out on spending time with Sharpener, but then again he was preparing for his big fight and he had less then two weeks left.

Lying against a Oak tree in the school's yard, next to Gohan who was once again reading, Videl almost dozed off when suddenly her watch let out it's famous beeps. Despite ages having passed since her last call – in fact, this was the first time she had been called into action since returning to Satan City – Videl still returned to full alertness at once. Shooting up, Videl activated the communicator in her watch and spoke up.

"This is Videl, what's up chief?"

"Videl we got some seriously weird shit going on around here." The Captain in charge of the situation told her. "There's a kindergarten in the north-west part of town – Play and Learn – that's currently being held hostage by a group of armed individuals. Now, normally, in this situation I'd call in SWAT and a negotiator, but the leader of the group was very specific; unless you arrive here, he's going to start executing the hostages. I don't know what on earth this freak show wants you, but that's what he demands. And you'll be here faster then a negotiator can arrive."

"I'll be on my way captain. Keep them occupied until I arrive." Videl automatically said, though her mind was racing.

"And Videl… be careful. Something tells me these boys aren't just hoodlums with a gun."

"Got it."

Videl looked at Gohan, who looked straight back at her. for a second, Videl thought he was arguing with himself about whether or not to go with her – his skills as a martial artist would certainly prove useful – but in the end all he said was "Good Luck Videl, and don't get hurt."

Videl had dashed out of school grounds before Gohan could even close his book,

XxX

The situation had been handled quickly – disappointingly quickly if Videl was honest – and without any casualties among the hostages. The captain had been right; these weren't hoodlums with a gun. These men had been completely incompetent idiots who didn't even know how to aim the guns they were holding.

Videl had entered the scene as a negotiator, walking forward with her hands on her head while three men had pointed guns on her. When they refused to surrender, Videl had taken a second of surprise and knocked the three men around her out in matter of seconds. Before an alarm could be raised, Videl had rushed into one of the two rooms that held hostages and took down the four men in there easily too. A loud crash, followed by idiot screams, loud cheers from the children and a sound suspiciously like a gun breaking informed her that Saiyaman had arrived and was dealing with the second room. That meant there was only one room left to go.

The last room, disappointingly, held only one man and he was almost pissing his pants when he saw Videl and Saiyaman walk in. He surrendered without even firing his gun, begging for mercy. That had been the easy part. The hard part had been convincing the cops she hadn't used a weapon or tried to kill the men she had fought.

In total, there had been twelve armed men. One had surrendered, and Saiyaman had taken down four of them. That left another seven that Videl had defeated. Those numbers matched the medic's report exactly; one was unharmed, four were unconscious with minor injuries. Seven were suffering from various serious, nearly fatal wounds; internal bleedings, broken bones, severe bruises and, in one case, a collapsed lung.

'_Well…'_ Videl thought with some attempt at humor, _'at least it shows my training from the last few months has been effective. Maybe a bit too effective.'_

"Videl, you alright?" The Captain asked as he approached with two cups of coffee. Saiyaman had, as soon as he heard the situation was salvaged, shot into the sky once again.

"Yeah chief, I'm alright. It's just… I feel terrible for what I did. I'm really sorry about that."

"Ah, don't worry about it making my report; those guys were just weaker then you had expected, since they were dressed up in full military gear. A genuine miscalculation of enemy power, no one is going to hold that against you. But try and contain yourself next time you get a call. Some of those injuries were more serious then the medics wanted to admit to your face."

Videl once again set into a new series of profound apologies for the amount of force she had used, even bowing once or twice, but the captain waved it off, saying it was inevitable with Videl being as strong as she was.

While Videl finally tried a sip of her coffee, a hooded figure standing some distance off, decided it was time to go. He had learned all he needed today. Without a change in his expression, he double-checked if his hoodie was still in place and then turned around and left the area.

* * *

As always thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter.

Please let me know what you think of this chapter in a review


	46. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it

* * *

Just outside the school, enjoying their lunch while sitting against a wall, sat the four most famous teens of Orange Star High. Gohan and Sharpener had already finished their lunches and were now leaning back against the wall contently, their poses a mirror-image of each other. As the two let out a content sigh at the exact same time, Erasa stopped eating and started giggling instead.

The two males looked confused for a second, then made eye contact with each other and shrugged simultaneously before going back to their previous position. This turned Erasa's giggles into outright laughter. Meanwhile, Videl had finished her lunch and was looking at the spectacle as well.

"Hey Sharpener, why are you so relaxed?" She suddenly asked as she reached for her carton of milk.

"It's great weather, we hardly have homework left to do and I've just finished my lunch, why wouldn't I be relaxed?" Sharpener didn't even open his eyes as he answered, clearly enjoying the heath of the sunrays on his head. Videl gulped down some milk before she responded, leaving a white milk-moustache.

"Because you got a match coming up the day after tomorrow, unless you forgot about that." A quick wipe of the sleeve and the moustache was gone, but Videl made another assault upon the carton.

"Don't worry, still remember it. Seven at the West City boxing hall."

"Then why're you so relaxed? I remember that before now, every time you had a match coming up you were grumpy and tense for a whole week before it started."

"Yeah, well before I wasn't as well-prepared. I'm as well-prepared as I can be, so it's better to relax now and not let worry and doubt kill me before the fight."

Finally the blond cracked one eye open and glanced at his black-haired friend, who had finished her milk and tossed the carton in the trashcan with an expert throw.

"Which is more then I can say for you." Sharpener continued, now getting up and looking at Videl with both eyes open. "You seem kinda agitated lately, what's up?"

"It's nothing." Videl replied mechanically. By now Gohan had returned to a proper sitting position as well and was looking at Videl. Next to him, Sharpener raised a single eyebrow, indicating that he knew she wasn't even close to telling the truth.

"Ok, fine." Videl relented under Sharpener's gaze. "It's not that big a deal, but I'm worried about what's been happening lately with all those fake robberies and hostage takings."

"What about it?" Erasa asked, still munching on her sandwich. Unlike Gohan, Sharpener and Videl, Erasa always ate with small bites, meaning her meals lasted twice as long as the others'.

"It doesn't make any sense at all. In the two months since we got back, I've been called by the police five times,"

"Five used to be the weekly minimum." Sharpener interfered, but Videl continued on.

"And they were all similar; a dangerous situation in a position easily defendable, taken over with nearly military precision and skill. Within five minutes of the call being made to the police, the building becomes a fortress that the police can't even approach without being shot. They call me, I arrive, Saiyaman hot on my heels as always, and the moment we arrive it becomes easy to infiltrate and every criminal inside the building is completely incompetent. The ones I encountered didn't know how to aim their gun, and there's never anything stolen or anything of the like. There've also been no really serious injuries, aside from three officers with non-lethal gunshot wounds. So what is going on here?"

"Did the police learn anything from the arrests they made?" Gohan asked, his voice making it clear he was thinking hard on the problem as well, but couldn't reach a solution.

"No, that's the problem. They don't know why they're where they are. Lie detectors and psychiatrists who've observed indicate that they're telling the truth; they have no idea what's going on or why they did what they did."

"That's odd…" Gohan murmured, until the bell started to ring, indicating they had to get back to their classes. "It doesn't make any sense." He continued, before he noticed that Sharpener and the others were waiting for him to get up.

"Sorry guys." Gohan said as he shot up. "Lost in thought, you know how I get. Let's go. Oh, and Sharpener."

The blond turned around as he handed Gohan his bag.

"Yeah?"

"Since you have your fight in two days, take off the wrist and ankle-weights you've been wearing until now. Get used to your body's new speed before the fight."

With a sigh of relief, Sharpener quickly unfastened the buckles and let the weights drop. As soon as the two kilogram weights dropped from his wrists, he felt a lot lighter. Seconds later, Sharpener also dropped the three kilogram weights attached to his ankles and felt like he could jump for joy.

XxX

Later that evening, Gohan stood in a brightly-lit room, his eyes locked on the table. Along with Gohan were Bulma, two senior mechanics and the three scientists who were working on the project. The suit on the table looked nothing like the disaster he had worn three months ago, which had nearly killed him.

On the table lay a suit of body armor, the various parts of the suit being different shades of black and grey.

"So, you managed to remove the gyros?" Gohan asked, observing the thick wrists and ankle holders.

"Not quite," one of the engineers started, "It's more like we reduced their size significantly and relocated them. They're not visible, but within these holders on the wrist, ankle, knee, elbow and shoulders." He pointed at each of the thick holding areas in turn. The areas in question were each about five centimeters thicker and higher then the rest of the suit, but no other indication could be made.

"Of course, those are only receptors meant to enhance the gravitational field." The other mechanic added, picking up the belt of the suit. "The main Gyro, the initializer of the field, is located inside the belt's buckle. At this central point of the body the field can expand and make contact with the other gyros, creating a stable field, while also being easy to de-activate. A press on the button and the main gyro stops, making the others nothing more then spinning ornaments."

"How well are they protected inside the casings?" Gohan asked, his eyes scanning the data on a nearby screen as he spoke.

"Well, the casings should protect against most forms of blunt force trauma so it should be relatively safe to wear during a workout." A scientist started, the mechanic at his side nodding in agreement. "And the gyros will also stay in proper function regardless of strange movements, but other forms of destabilizing, like what you did during the testing of the previous suit could still prove dangerous. The force that's expelled from your body messes up the gyro's rotations. If it was only one gyro, the problems would be minimal, but every gyro affected increases the effect exponentially."

"So, it should be safe for ordinary sporting events, just not for events with extraordinary usage of force, like energy…" Gohan summarized. "Very good job, should we manage to create a more cost-efficient variation of this outfit, we can market it and start selling to athletes. Do you think there's any way you can alter the outfit to make it function without the gyros?"

"Only if we redevelop it from scratch and start out with a new material to create and stabilize the gravitational field."

"Too bad," Gohan sighed, turning to look at the group that had worked on this project. "Like I said, well done. Take a few days off then start looking at more cost-effective variations of the material used, and if you happen to have any ideas about creating a version without the gyros, be sure to let me know."

XxX

"Ok, Sharpener, you're done with your warm-up. Sit down and take five before the match starts." The coach said, tapping his watch for emphasis on the time. As ordered, Sharpener sat down, the towel being placed over his shoulders again.

"How you feeling kid?" The coach asked, seeing that his prodigy was behaving different then he had in his last match. "You ok?"

"Yeah I'm cool." Sharpener assured, not a fiber of doubt in his voice. "I'm a bit nervous, but nowhere near as much as normal. I'm looking forward to the fight to start."

"Well good because you've only got four more minutes." A female voice suddenly said from the door. Looking up at the entrance, Sharpener immediately identified Gohan, Videl and Erasa as they walked into the room. "The match before yours ended in a second round KO." Videl explained. "Ready to go?"

"You bet our ass I'm ready." Sharpener teasingly said, raising a gloved fist at her. Videl tapped it with her own fist with a grin. "Then go out there and kick some major ass."

"You go Sharpy!" Erasa added with a wink. "Remember, we'll be sitting just behind your corner. Be sure to win so I can start bragging at school about it. And don't forget to keep it short, we have to be at the party at Capsule Corporation in a few hours!"

"Way to set your priorities Erasa!" Sharpener laughed, just like Gohan did, while the girls simply grinned. "Placing the party before your fake boyfriend's fight? Let's hope no-one hears about that."

"It just shows I have a lot of faith in you." Erasa winked again and Sharpener turned to Gohan.

"So Gohan, what's your prediction?"

"I don't know." As always, Gohan was uncomfortable being the center of everyone's attention and started to shift his weight. "I can't actually make a guess until I've seen our opponent in action."

"This is the point where you're supposed to lie to me and say 'You'll finish him of with a KO without even being touched' or something similar." Sharpener half scolded. "But no worries, I'll let you see the first round and then make a prediction when I'll KO the guy. If he survives the first round."

"My, my, aren't you confident?" Another, much older voice sounded from behind the teens. Immediately, the trio of teenagers stepped aside and turned around, letting the aged but still proud figure of Parer Pencil through. The older Pencil stopped about halfway through the room and he looked at his son, ignoring everyone else in the room.

"Well, from what I've heard, you worked very hard to earn your confidence today." He continued in a much softer tone. "So I hope you do manage to get a knock out, you would have earned it. I just hope your recent… activities… haven't been to much of a distraction from your training." As he spoke, his eyes shot to the side of the room where the other three were standing, before he looked back at his son. "Good luck."

Sharpener didn't say anything, only glaring at his father. Even when the older man turned around and made to leave the room, Sharpener only spoke briefly and with anger in his voice.

"I'm going to win. Now get out."

Parer halted for a moment then simply raised his arm and cane before leaving. The tap of his cane on the ground of the hallway died almost immediately in the noise made by the others. A few seconds later, the coach gave a signal to the teens and they left the room, giving a quick wave to Sharpener.

In silence, the blond boxer focused on one thing and one thing only.

Putting Gohan's lessons to good use and winning this next fight.

XxX

"Ladieeeees and Geeeentlemaaaaan! Welcome to tonight's main event!" The voice of the announcer was heard loud and clear over the speakers in the room. "Welcome to the final match of this A-rank tournament. Before we introduce the two fighters, allow me to tell you who will be sitting next to me to give their expert advice on this match. Immediately to my right is Japan's national pride of boxing, considered the greatest boxer in recent history, former World Champion and current WBC rank number 4 Risusagi Kuma! "

The man in question stood up, raising one hand and giving waves to the crowd, before sitting down again. He was tall, a bit taller then Sharpener was, and muscular. It was obvious he had earned his nickname of 'Beat-down Boxing Bear' by not only his name, but also his sheer size.

"As any sports fan knows, Kuma is the reigning national champion in the middleweight division. He's held the title for close to a decade now, having never lost a fight to another Japanese man. He will be attending this match to give us in-depth views of the fight. As you know, the winner of this fight will have the honor of fighting against this man in the next match as well. And on the far side of the table is a man who has no need for introductions!"

The large figure that stood up dwarfed Kuma, both taller and broader then the boxer, but no-one cared. As his hands shot up into his trademark stance of a double victory pose, Hercule Satan let out his booming laugh to a roar of the audience.

"That's right folks! It's Hercule himself! The world's strongest man is here to talk about the fight that will be held tonight from his own point of view. Do either of you two have anything to say before the match begins?"

"I hope this will be an exciting fight." Kuma said; his voice heavy and serious. "Both fighters have potential, so this could turn into a very good match. It will all depend on how well they've prepared to fight one another."

"I agree with that." Hercule added. "Both Sharpener and Sawamada are young and have shown excellent abilities to grow in between their fights. They're a long distance removed from the world stage, but they could very well be the first youngsters to reach the top since Kuma here stepped back to national level."

"Well folks, there you have it, from two champions. This fight could prove to be extremely exciting. Now let's introduce the fighters!"

Immediately the lights in the hall dimmed, spotlights appearing and shooting around the ring before moving to one of the entrances.

"First off, in the blue corner… hailing from Orange Star Gym, weighing in at one-hundred and fifty-nine pounds… former national champion in the amateur and youth divisions and Rookie King of the year, this man has a spotless record. At only eighteen years old, he is considered one of the biggest talents in Japan. Ladieeees and Gentlemen, entering the ring now, with a record of ten fights, ten wins and seven knockouts, Sharpener PENCIL!"

As his name was mentioned, Sharpener walked into the hall, his hands by his side and the towel over his head while the crowd cheered and yelled in equal measure. As he entered, the commenter and the two champions continued their talk.

"Pencil has had a very good start as a boxer, but as was evidenced in his last two fights, since he entered the national top ten he's had serious problems with his fights. His three matches since the Rookie King finals were all by decision. What are your opinions on this?"

"It's obvious he needed time to adjust." Kuma started, "Pencil definitely shows a lot of promise, but he hasn't had time to get into the pace of pro boxing yet. Based on his previous matches, I'd say his chances of winning are actually fairly low. As it stands, my prediction is eight to two chances, Sawamada's advantage."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Hercule interjected, watching Sharpener climb into the ring at last. "I personally know him and I can tell you that he's been training a lot in preparation for this match. I've come to understand that he's attended a two-month training camp and he's improved considerably while there. I'm sure he'll show us when the fight starts."

"And now, your attention please for the red corner; hailing from Central City's Ikitou gym, weighing in at one-hundred and fifty-five pounds… former Rookie King and the national rank one, this is a man that boxes like no other in the nation. At the age of twenty-four, he keeps up an intense pace of matches, allowing him to stay focused as a razor's edge… Ladieeees and Gentlemen, entering the ring now, with a record of twenty-six matches, twenty wins and fourteen knock-outs… Tomohiko Sawamada!"

From the other entrance, Sawamada entered the hall, his seconds right behind him. Like Sharpener, Sawamada was tall and lean, but he was thinner then Sharpener at the shoulders and his head was clean-shaven bald.

XxX

Sharpener started bouncing on the balls of his feet as soon as he returned to his corner after greeting his opponent in the center of the ring, excitement immediately taking control of him as the fight was about to begin. Standing just clear of his corner, Sharpener locked eyes with Sawamada, knowing both eagerly awaited the fight to begin.

-Gong-

As soon as the metallic sound was heard, Sharpener stepped forward, reaching the center of the ring at the same time as Sawamada did. Their guards already up, both boxers started making a variation of feints. For a second it seemed that neither dared to break the tension and start the match.

It was Sharpener who stopped feinting and instead hit at Sawamada's right with a solid jab. The attacking arm of Sawamada, the right wasn't held as closely or as tightly as his guarding left hand. The jab resulted in Sawamada's right arm being pushed far to the side, opening up his entire right side.

Never one to waste a good chance, Sharpener immediately continued with his attack and punched Sawamada in the face with his jab. Apparently, the jab was much stronger then either fighter had thought, because Sawamada immediately went down, landing spread eagle on his back.

"To the corner!" The referee shouted to Sharpener, immediately turning to Sawamada. "One!" He started the count.

On the ground, Sawamada raised his head without a problem, but there was a look of surprise on his face. At the count of three, the boxer from Central City turned around and he was on his feet by the count of five. He still kept his arms low, clearly resting, until the eight was reached, then immediately assumed his fighting stance.

Clearly aware that he had underestimated the blonde's power, Sawamada immediately took to the offensive, throwing one punch after another. Skillfully mixing up jabs, hooks, uppers and straights, Sawamada mixed the usage of both his left and right arms, but nothing seemed to work.

Despite being of the same size and having the same reach, Sharpener managed to twist his body or step aside quick enough to evade the hits. Although he was an outboxer by nature, Sawamada was smart enough to realize that he couldn't keep up with Sharpener's speed. If they fought at this distance, he'd have a hard time keeping up.

So, Sawamada closed the distance some more, shifting his weight forward and begin a more intense, close-range barrage of assaults, fighting like an in-fighter. Again and again he lashed out; and again and again Sharpener managed to dance away from the attacks. Both his feet and his upper body were moving with an insane speed and reaction, making it nearly impossible to hit.

Sidestepping another hook, Sharpener suddenly lashed out with his left, the jab hitting it's mark perfectly. Now ready to expect Sharpener's attack power, Sawamada hardly flinched but continued his assault. It was no use; Sharpener was already gone before Sawamada could hit him, and another punch, this time to the shoulder, let him know where the blond had gone.

This immediately set the pace for the remainder of the round; Sharpener, using nimble feet, impressive agility and sharpened reflexes managed to evade almost every punch that was thrown, interrupting, blocking or even deflecting those he couldn't evade, and landed more then his fair share of punches in between the dodging.

The two boxers were interrupted when the referee jumped in between them as the gong sounded.

"To your corners!" He shouted as he pushed the two aside. "First round is over!"

Sawamada, already breathing hard and looking sour, turned around to his corner, while Sharpener, a look of surprise and excitement on his face, stepped back to his corner, his eyes never leaving his opponent.

XxX

From his seat just behind the blue corner, Gohan had a prefect vision of Sharpener returning to his corner, turning around and refusing to sit down on the stool. The look on his face told everything; he was far too excited and fired up to sit down. After gurgling water to clean his mouth a bit, but his eyes were already searching the crowd, until they locked on Gohan.

Even with the loud noise of people cheering, yelling and talking, Gohan could hear Sharpener's voice perfectly clear.

"So, what's the prediction?"

At the sound of the question – so cocky it was contagious – Gohan let out a cocky grin as he answered.

"KO, second round at the two minute mark."

Sharpener immediately returned the grin, his voice still clear to Gohan over the noise.

"You're wrong. It'll be before then!"

While the two teens were talking, the commenter and two champions were also discussion the first round.

"After this astounding first round, what do you think will happen in the match now?" The small man asked.

"Well, I'll admit I am completely surprised by Pencil's change in overall ability." Kuma said; his voice much softer then before. "His speed, reaction, power and senses all seem completely different from his previous matches. He also holds on to more traditional boxing styles with great efficiency. As it stands now, I think the odds would be a complete turn-around from my previous prediction. With the damage that Sawamada's suffered already, both physical and mental, I'd say the odds are nine-to-one, Pencil's advantage."

Next to the middleweight champion, Hercule let out a broad grin as he watched Sharpener turn around and return to the match. He'd known the boy since he was five and practically considered him family, so he beamed with pride as the teen proved his dedication right.

The gong sounded again, and immediately both fighters returned to action.

XxX

Now used to both his own movement without the weights and his opponent's abilities, Sharpener immediately started the round on the offensive. Before Sawamada could even make it to the center of the ring, Sharpener was upon him, jabbing and running circles around the other boxer.

One after another, all of Sharpener's hits landed, but against the tight guard that Sawamada now employed, protecting his head and most of his body, it was nearly useless. Punch after punch landed, clearly paining the man, but still he held his guard up. Apparently, he was hoping to tire Sharpener out.

'_Well… tough luck pal._' The blonde thought as he attacked again. '_I can keep this up for a long time._'

The jabs were switched up with straights and hooks keeping up a heavy barrage, until the guard looked more like two bruised pieces of flesh then actual arms. In pain, but still trying to keep up, Sawamada's arms dropped a fraction and immediately Sharpener struck. A right uppercut tore the arms apart, forcing Sawamada's guard wide open and left the bald man defenseless for a second.

Using his left, Sharpener used another upper, this time short and fast, and hit him straight on the chin. Stunned and forced to his full height by the blow, Sawamada couldn't move in time to react to Sharpener's right straight. The punch hit him in the face and nearly knocked him out on his feet, but it was a left hook to the temple that sent Sawamada sprawling to the floor and unable to move.

The referee immediately jumped in, sending Sharpener to a corner and then examined Sawamada. Without a count, he immediately crossed his arms and indicated Sharpener.

"WINNER! BLUE CORNER!"

As Sharpener's fists flew up in a victory pose, he turned around and saw the clock. One minute, fifty-five seconds. Along with the cheers of victory from the crowd, Sharpener let out a loud laugh. Immediately, without even thinking, he shouted out loud. Fortunately, the roar of the crowd prevented most people from hearing, but some still did.

"Hey Nerd-Boy, I fucking OWNED your prediction!" As he yelled he locked eyes with Gohan, who glanced at the clock as well and also laughed aloud. Looking around some more, Sharpener was surprised to see that he was receiving a standing ovation from no-one less then the national champion himself. The sight of Kuma Risusagi, a living legend of boxing, standing and applauding him was enough to freeze Sharpener to the spot.

More people began to notice and a stunned silence suddenly hung over the hall. Understanding the mood in the hall, the national boxing champion took up the microphone.

"Congratulations!" He started, looking at Sharpener, a strange glint to his eyes as he spoke. "Truly an extremely impressive fight today. It has been a long, long time since I saw such skill in one born on Japanese grounds. You have my sincere compliments for your growth over these past few weeks."

Besides Kuma, Hercule was looking surprised at the other champion. He was known to be a man of few words and generally disliked public speaking, but something had obviously gotten his attention now.

"But I'm afraid I must warn you…" The national champion continued, "Seeing you fight just now has awakened my interest. My blood is boiling for the chance to fight you. I haven't felt this elated for a match in years! Three months from now, at the Champion's Festival, we will meet and we will fight. I look forward to it. Please, do not disappoint me when we meet."

By now the glance in his eyes had also moved to his voice. Excitement, eagerness for the challenge of a good fight. With a motion of his head, the champion indicated to the ring attendants that they should give the blonde a microphone so he could respond.

For his part, Sharpener was still stunned by this challenge from his idol, but he simply glanced at Gohan – who nodded his head – and his confidence immediately grew. The mic was handed to him and he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well, in that case I'm sorry." The blond started, to the surprise of everyone else. "Because you will be disappointed after our fight is over, and I take home your belt!"

* * *

Much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter.

As always, please leave a review.


	47. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: I don't own anything DBZ-related, it all belongs to others with way more money then me.

* * *

A mere hour after his boxing match, Sharpener was walking in his usual guestroom at the Satan Mansion. Since he and Erasa had come over so often, Hercule had decided to give them special chambers once they were old enough to realize that the difference between boys and girls wasn't just the length of their hair – something which Sharpener pointedly ignored, even as a small boy – or how you pee, but much more.

After the fight Sharpener had given the interview and stayed for mandatory events, but after that he had hopped onto Videl's jetcopter along with the girls and moved to the Satan Mansion. Gohan would be going home to pick up his family, but as far as the girls knew he went straight to CC. Lies were, fortunately, becoming much easier for Gohan, now that he was getting some practice at them.

'_Guess he's a straight A+-student for a reason.'_ Sharpener thought as he laid the rest of his costume out on the bed. He had only just gotten out of the shower, so he was walking around in nothing but his boxers when Erasa suddenly opened the door and walked in.

"Hey Sharpy," she greeted, sitting down in one of the chairs near the window, "congratulations on making a headline already."

"Really?" The boxer asked, turning over to look at Erasa. She was still dressed in the same clothes she had worn to his match. That was a shame, because the girls refused to tell him how they were going. "Why am I the headline? I thought the newspaper wouldn't be printed until tomorrow?"

"Online publishing." Erasa said with a confident grin. "Your little exchange with the champ after the match is dominating any and all newspaper messages. They're hardly writing about your match other then saying it was a 'smashing win' and the like. You got people's attention now!"

"Of course I would have, I'm now the number one in the nation!" Sharpener said, turning back to his clothing and again thinking on how he'd best start dressing. Start with the pants or the shirt? The belts should definitely come last, or maybe the wig?

"Hey, how long are you going to take getting dressed mister? You're staring at those clothes like a gooey-eyed girl who doesn't know what to wear on her first date." Erasa smirked, but Sharpener hardly gave a reaction.

"I'm wondering about how exactly I'm going to put this on." Now Sharpener was holding the pants in one hand and the shirt in the other. The jacket goes over the shirt, but the shirt should not show under it. "Guess I'll have to figure it out by trial and error. Why are you hanging out here, by the way? I thought you and Videl were helping each other get changed?"

"Yeah, we are, but Vi's in the bathroom right now and you know how long _that_ takes with her -"

"Don't remind me."

"-so I thought I'd come over and hang out with you for a bit. I have to wait until she's done in there before I can help her then take a shower and get changed myself."

Sitting down on the bed, Sharpener pulled on the pants first, standing up to see how they fit him.

"So, how long do you think you two are going to take getting dressed?"

"Oh, not that long." Erasa said as she flipped through a book on Sharpener's nightstand. "You still haven't finished this? You started reading it ages ago! Anyway, it should only be about half an hour or so after I get out of the shower"

"I left it here, couldn't very well read it back home or at Gohan's if I don't have it. And that's good to hear. Don't want a repeat of the last time we went to a costumed party." The shirt was now on as well, as Sharpener sat down once again, this time to put on his socks. It was far too hot for the jacket right now.

"That was almost five years ago!" The girl defended herself, though her voice was laced with humor; she still remembered that incident very well.

"And you made me wait almost five hours before you remembered I was sitting downstairs, waiting for you!"

"Oh please, it was only an hour and a half, you big baby. Now hurry up."

"I will if you shut up." Sharpener grinned back, also still remembering that particular party over at Angela's. "I remember you going as a beach lifeguard and Videl going as the Karate Kid. Still don't know what on earth took you so long. How are you two going?"

No matter how innocently it was asked and how smoothly it was inserted in the conversation, Erasa still noticed it and gained a twinkle in her eyes, along with a slow smile spreading on her face.

"Well, Mr. Pencil." She slowly said, getting up from her chair. "The answer's the same as the last five times you've asked; guess you'll just have to wait and see." For good measure she stuck her tongue out at the larger man, who only grinned back. "And for your information; Videl is taking long this time because she wants to look good for Gohan. I think there's finally going to be some changed between those two tonight!"

XxX

At half past nine, a little after the official start of the party, Videl's jetcopter touched down on Capsule Corporation's roof. Gohan was already waiting for them on the roof, since Sharpener had called ahead to warn him; his Saiyaman-helmet was held under his arm, but otherwise he was in full superhero getup. Sharpener opened the door to the copter before jumping out, giving Gohan a significant look and offering a hand for Erasa. A second later Gohan was on the other side of the door offering Videl a hand out of the machine.

For once, Videl accepted his chivalry with a smile, before turning around and capsulizing her Jetcopter. The jetcopter's capsule quickly disappeared into a pocket of her long coat.

In fact, much to Gohan's surprise and slight disappointment, both Videl and Erasa were wearing long, thick coats that covered them completely. Confused, the half-human gave Sharpener a questioning look, but the other teen just shrugged. The message was clear; the girls didn't want them to see their outfits under anything but the best circumstances.

Walking through the door, the quartet was quickly met by one of the employees of Capsule Corp, ready to escort them through the mansion towards the party. Of course, Gohan didn't need an escort, but before he could say as much Erasa quickly asked for a room where she and Videl could 'freshen up'.

As soon as the girls rounded the corner, following the employee to one of the dressing rooms, Sharpener let out a sigh.

"Honestly, I don't know why they'd need to 'freshen up' any further." The now-white-haired teen started. "They spent almost _two hours_ getting ready for this. I had to do a cool-down, give three interviews and a photo-shoot, then go over to Videl's by bike, take a long shower and get changed and I was still done an hour before either of them. Oh well, there are some things we'll never understand and girls are probably the biggest of it all."

"Agreed," Gohan grinned as he opened another door. "So, who are you exactly? I don't recognize you at all."

Sharpener was wearing black army boots, combined with black pants, which set off his bright white shirt and jacket. A belt was placed over the jacket, keeping it tight to Sharpener's body, which held a variety of things. A handgun, two hand grenades and what seemed like five cigars and a lighter. Sharpener's hands were hidden in black gloves and to top it all off, he was wearing a wig with short, white hair.

In response to the question, Sharpener pulled out one of the cigars, lit it with the lighter and immediately puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"I'm John Hannibal Smith; master tactician, chain-smoker of cigars, maker of wise-cracks, master of disguises and leader of a group of mercenaries in one of the oldest and most kick-ass shows I've ever seen; The A-team."

"Never heard of it, but sounds like it's a good show." Gohan said, opening the door to the party-room. The inside was, as always when Bulma threw a party, perfectly decorated. Colors were all over the room, combined with several other decorations like slings, a statue and more. One side of the room held a small buffet for the guests to pick up some small snacks – Gohan had already been informed of a separate Saiyan-only overfilled table three rooms down the hall – and on the other was a table for drinks.

Almost as soon as they entered the room, the two teenagers were approached by a man wearing a blue bodysuit, with a long red cape, red boots and red underwear above the suit. It took even Gohan a second to recognize Yamcha, thanks to the makeup he had used to hide his scars.

"Hey, look a fellow superhero!" The baseball-player greeted, giving Gohan and Sharpener both a firm handshake. "Oh hey kid, congrat- ah damn, I gotta go!"

Before both could even make out why Yamcha had to suddenly go, he had slipped towards a large group of people and disappeared in between them. A second later, Marron and Bra walked by, both still very recognizable despite their dresses. Marron wore pink wings and a magic wand, while Bra was wearing a long sweeping pink-white dress, complete with miniature crown.

"Hello uncle Gohan!" They both chorused when they saw the tall half-saiyan, "I'm a princess!" Bra immediately added, while Marron said "I'm a fairy!" the two looked at each other, grinned and then looked back at Gohan and Sharpener.

"Hey, uncle Gohan, have you seen uncle Yamcha? We want to play with him, but he keeps disappearing. It's almost like he didn't like the game we played before." Marron asked, her face a perfect image of cuteness.

"But I really liked flying on his cape! It was fun!" Bra complained, somehow perfecting the image of a spoilt princess who didn't get what she wanted. The image probably wasn't that far from the truth either.

"Yeah right," Trunks' voice was the only thing to identify him as he appeared behind his sister and her best friend. "It was boring. And when we finally made it funny by pulling down that weird underwear he ran off. Wimp."

Trunks was dressed in all black, made completely out of cloth, complete with facial mask and gloves. His weaponry – a hiltless sword on his back, along with fake shuriken and knifes at his belt – identified his costume as that of a ninja. It certainly did the trick of hiding his identity.

"Well, it was kind a mean of you to do that Trunks." Goten said, his eye-patch flipped up and his hat askew on his head. "But shouldn't it be called overwear or something? He isn't actually wearing them under anything…"

Goten, however, was dressed like a pirate in full getup. He had a pirate hat, complete with Jolly-Roger symbol, pirate-clothes, an eye-patch, sea-faring boots and a pirate's sword and gun strapped to his side.

"Hey, what're you two doing here?" Sharpener asked, impressed with the kids' outfits, but still surprised at their presence.

"Bra wanted to join this party." Trunks said, glaring at his sister's back. "Which means Marron also wanted to come. And mom and dad made me come as well, to watch her back. And there is no way I'm going to be alone all night with no-one but those two stupid girls, so I called Goten. He's sleeping over tonight."

"Hey we gotta go Trunks!" Goten dashed past and pulled his friend along. The two girls had nearly disappeared into a group of people, though not the same ones that Yamcha had used to vanish.

"Those boys…" Chichi said as she walked up to Gohan and Sharpener. She had made herself known to the two teenagers with a wave while the kids where still talking, but hadn't interrupted. She was dressed in a fiery red Chinese dress, with a golden phoenix-and-flames motive. To finish things off, she had her hair worked like pigtails, but twisted around like a whip. It took Gohan some time to realize she was dressed as Lei Fang, a videogame-character that Erasa had introduced her too.

"They complain about having been stuck with guarding the girls," she continued, "but they simply refuse to let the girls go more then three foot away from them."

"Yeah, Trunks heard some of the other boys say something bad about Bra today." Bulma added as she and Vegeta also moved forward. Bulma waved her fan at the two boys in greeting. "I think a boy in Trunks' class called Bra an 'annoying brat' or something, and now Trunks won't let her out of his sights. And Goten is just as protective of the two of them; he just doesn't need a reason to."

Bulma was dressed as a Geisha, her hair painted black for the occasion and flowing down as low as it could. It complemented her snow-white skin – courtesy of make-up – and combined with the azure-blue kimono with flower-print it was almost impossible to miss the woman. Her fan was in the same motif and color as her kimono.

At her side, Vegeta wore a kimono as well, though his was pale orange, with black stripes and, of course, the male version of the garment. Unlike his wife he hadn't bothered with any special makeup or the like, instead wearing the kimono and showing a naked chest underneath. To finish up the look of a ronin, he had a katana attached to his side and a long wooden needle to chew on.

His only reaction to Bulma's comment was a snort. Obviously, he found something very amusing about the discussion between the two women.

Suddenly Yamcha re-appeared to continue his conversation with Sharpener, giving quick nods of acknowledgement to the others.

"So, as I was saying, congratulations on winning the match. I saw it on TV, it was pretty impressive. And I wasn't the only one who was impressed. Gohan, you don't mind if I steal him for a bit, right?" Before the teen could say anything, Yamcha was already steering Sharpener away, leading to a corner where Tien and Chiaotzu were standing. As always, the two made a pair: Tien was dressed as an ogre, his third eye hidden beneath a fake horn, while Chiaotzu was dressed as an imp; instead of the usual white make-up, he had now covered his face with green.

"Well, aside from that…" Gohan chuckled, before looking at Vegeta again. "You know Vegeta, I have to say I'm surprised you'd wear that. It's a very traditional human outfit."

"Don't get cute with me brat." The Prince of all Saiyans growled back, before starting to grin. "Out of all the outfits that the Woman made me wear, only this colorful bathrobe was a bit comfortable; that's why I'm wearing it."

"Vegeta, how many times do I have to tell you: it's not a bathrobe! It's a traditional outfit that warriors in ancient times used to wear!"

Seeing the smirk on Vegeta's face, Gohan quickly turned and put some distance behind him and the arguing couple. He didn't want to be part of an argument between those two.

XxX

Ten minutes after they had entered their dressing room, Videl and Erasa were completely done and ready to return to the party. The finishing touches they had to make were the only things they couldn't have hidden beneath the long coats; their hair. Erasa had talked Videl into doing this, because they wanted 'maximum impact' and according to the blond, that was only achieved by making a perfect first impression.

Three steps from their room, the two ran into Krillin and #18, both of whom where painted completely blue and wearing similar shoes and hats. Krillin's were red, while #18's were white. Other then that, Krillin was only wearing some red pants, leaving his chest open to the world. #18 on the other hand, wore a white sundress, which actually left little to the imagination.

"Oh ehm, sorry." Krillin happily grinned as he saw the two girls. "Didn't see you there…"

Before the girls could say anything more, #18 spoke up, a sly grin on her face as well. "We're the Smurfs. He's big Papa Smurf and I'm the Smurfette. I just got done all… smurfing him up as they say."

The tone of #18's voice, along with the insinuation and strange glances the husband and wife where giving each other caused both teens to immediately do a rather accurate imitation of a tomato. Their faces were still as red as they could be without bleeding, the two teens turned and left. Behind them there was the familiar sound of Krillin's chuckle, combined with #18's.

Neither teen paid it any attention as they passed the Ox King – who was dressed as a pro wrestler, wearing what seemed like a bathing suit combined with a mask, gloves and a strange jacket – and moving over to the party.

XxX

Gohan was talking with Tien, telling the triclops about the advantages of the Mobile Graviton, when suddenly his mouth stopped working, simply hanging open. Following the now completely frozen halfbreed's line of sight, Tien quickly saw the reason for being frozen over; Erasa and Videl had entered the room.

Some distance away, leaning against a wall as always, Piccolo stood without any sort of costume; his Namekian appearance was enough of a costume for most people present. Ever serious and vigilant, Piccolo immediately noticed when Gohan stopped all movement and stared only in one direction. Following his pupil's gaze, the Namek looked at the two girls that had drawn Gohan's complete attention.

The girls were known to him by name and face – anyone who associated with Gohan was known to the Namek – but he had never personally met them. The green-eyed girl, Erasa, was dressed in little more then a golden-style bikini and purple cloth flowing from the bottom piece. Instead of her normal blond hair she wore a brown wig that gave her a rather long braid. If Piccolo did not have Kami's knowledge – and inherent love of human television shows – he would not have realized that Erasa was dressed as the famous Princess Leia.

At her side, Videl was a sharp contrast. Where Erasa was a fantasy character who showed as much as she could, Videl was in a modern, down-to-earth outfit; that of a career woman. Her hair was pulled back in a tight knot, glasses on her nose that seemed to compliment her face and she was wearing a rather flattering dark-blue business-suit over a white shirt, complete with short skirt. To finish the look she was on high heels; a very rare sight for the crime fighter.

To Piccolo's side, Yamcha had also interrupted his conversation with Gohan's male friend – Sharpener, Piccolo reminded himself – and Chiaotzu about the boy's boxing match. The former desert bandit had noticed Gohan's distraction and a grin was slowly spreading over his face. At his side, the now-white-haired boy had to shake himself a couple of times to stay focused.

"Oh great," he muttered, too silent for anything but Namekian hearing to notice, "now I have to save his ass from being the ridicule of the party. The things I do for this guy." A second later he had excused himself from Chiaotzu and Yamcha's presence and moved over to Gohan. Fortunately for the son of Goku, Sharpener got there before the girls were even close.

They where being held up by a sudden commotion caused by Goten and Trunks; ever since they had finished getting dressed, the two had been arguing about who was cooler, a pirate or a ninja. On this subject, neither had been willing to give in and now it finally exploded. Both Goten and Trunks had their swords unsheathed and were now giving an expert demonstration on swordsmanship.

Neither boy had ever received any sort of training with weaponry, mainly because their sheer power made weapons pointless, but even so it was a fast-paced exchange for anyone watching. For Sharpener, it was the perfect distraction. He reached Gohan just as the two boys jumped up on a table to clash blades once again and immediately smacked his friend to the back of the head.

Although he felt like he had broken his hand, Sharpener had reached his goal; the smack on the head shocked Gohan enough to start moving again. Another few shakes of Gohan's shoulder – using Sharpener's other hand – woke the boy up further.

"Come on Nerd-boy." Sharpener tugged on Gohan's shoulder, seeing a grin not unlike Yamcha's appear on Tien's face. "Let's go meet them. If you keep standing here any longer, you'll become the biggest idiot ever to walk the face of the earth."

For their part, the girls managed to maneuver around the swordfight – which was rapidly moving through the room now, though it was impossible for anyone to determine who was winning – and met the boys as well.

"E-e-e-e-e." Try as he might, Gohan could not get a coherent sentence out of his mouth as he looked at the girls.

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" Erasa joked, while Videl was apparently divided between being embarrassed and amused.

"Ehm, n-n-no, I-I m-m-mean."

"Wow, you two look great!" Sharpener all but exclaimed, hoping Gohan would take the hint. He quickly leaned in to talk with Erasa, leaving Gohan to talk to Videl. For a few seconds, neither said a word. It was Videl who finally broke the silence.

"Hi." Much like Gohan, she sounded on the verge of stutters and couldn't think of what to say, other then the obvious and lame greeting. It seemed to get the trick done though; Gohan broke out of his stutter and finally managed to speak again.

"You look really great in that. It suits you." Now both teens blushed, though not as bad as it could have been. To their side, unseen by the two raven-haired fighters, Erasa gave Sharpener a knowing wink, which he returned with a confident grin.

"Why don't you guys hang on, I'll be right back with some drinks for all of us." Sharpener announced, his fake cigar – it only gave smoke when lighted, nothing else – still in his teeth.

Looking around for a place they could sit down, both Videl and Gohan were clear witnesses of what happened next; Goten and Trunks, still fighting intensely with their swords, moved to the snack table, where Vegeta was just reaching out for a plate of salami. In some bizarre twist of movement, both boys' swords cut clean through the plate and the table, spilling all the meat on the floor.

Before anyone could even realize that the swords the boys were wielding were indeed sharp, or that they had spilled food, Vegeta unsheathed his katana, swiped in between the two pre-teens and instantly shattered both their swords.

"Trunks, Goten, I think it's time we have a little talk about spilling my food." The Prince's tone was filled with anger as he lifted the two boys up by their shirts and dragged them out of the room. Yet for some reason, both Gohan and Videl burst into laughter at the sight. Stoic, impassive Vegeta was at long last angered… by someone threatening his food.

XxX

'_What time is it anyway?'_ Gohan was wondering as he walked around the room to get another glass of soda. The party had been going on for some time, but Gohan had lost any and all sense of time. _'It's probably right where I left it, along with my helmet and cape.' _For some reason the thought was amusing.

At some point in the party, Gohan had managed to lose both his helmet – last he had seen it Yamcha was wearing it, claiming to be 'Super Saiyaman' – and his cape – which he was fairly sure he saw someone use as a napkin at one point – but Gohan couldn't really care. He still had the black bodysuit, the green toga, both golden buttons and all of his gloves and boots.

Right?

A quick look confirmed that Gohan still had both boots and gloves. _'Why'd I think I lost them? I'm not feeling too good. Oh hey, there's Bulma!'_

"Heelo Bulma." Gohan started as he walked over to his godmother. Chichi had disappeared some time ago, not being much of a party person, to tuck in all four children and then get some sleep herself. "Do you happen to knowww where Videl is?"

'_When did I get a slur in my talking? Wait, do I really slur? No I don't!'_

"Gohan, are you alright?" Bulma asked with obvious concern. She was no longer carrying her fan, and now she was giving the boy a piercing stare. "You don't look too steady. Did you drink anything with alcohol in it; you know you can't handle that stuff!"

"Don't whorry, I didn't drink anythwing I shouldn't have drunk." Gohan assured her with several nods. "I'm fweeling fine, honestly. I may be a bit tired, 'cause it's kinda late."

"Are you sure?"

"Videl said something about being in a garden to get some air." Erasa added, appearing on Bulma's side. "She's been here before, so she said she knew her way around. Why're you looking for her?"

"Thaaanks Erasa!" Gohan said, not even hearing the question as he turned around and stumbled out of the room. Seeing Gohan stumble without having been in a universe-threatening, earth-shaking, ultra-destructive and extremely-annoying-because-it's-invisible-to-her-eyes fight caused Bulma's eyebrows to shoot up at once. There was nothing that could take this kid down normally, least of all exhaustion; he was more then capable of fighting for seventy hours without a break.

"But how'd he get drunk?" She asked aloud. She had made very sure that the alcoholic beverages were guarded by a waiter at all times and none of it had entered in the punch; Vegeta had nearly emptied the bowl out of boredom and a slight thirst and he didn't feel anything. If Vegeta was unaffected, despite his much more sensitive pure-Saiyan nature, that meant the punch was clean.

"I made sure the punch was non-alcoholic and I've only seen him drink punch and soda."

Suddenly she was aware of the girl at her side exchanging grins with someone on her other side. Turning around, the president of Capsule Corporation saw Erasa and Sharpener exchanging confident grins, clearly on the verge of high-fiving each other over a success. Those grins told her everything she had to know; Trunks wore an identical grin when he pulled a prank and got away with it.

Immediately she glared at the two teenagers, placing her fists on her hips as she did so. Under the scrutiny of the world-renowned and age-old 'mother's glare to make kids talk' that somehow every mother managed to learn and perfect, the two teens looked uncomfortable at first, before Sharpener finally gave a lazy and extremely guilty grin.

"**What** exactly did you do?" Bulma demanded, without ever raising her voice.

"Nothing big," Sharpener immediately said, having fallen victim to the glare. "I bit a bit of wine in the glasses of punch I brought at first. Those two needed something to help them relax and let go, otherwise there'd never be a move. And before you start, I know Gohan's allergic, so I only gave him about three drops. Should be plenty to get his barriers down."

"You have got to believe us," Erasa added, though Bulma had half-stopped when Sharpener mentioned Gohan's 'allergy' to alcohol. What had Gohan told this kid? "We want to help those two out, they've been dancing around each other for months now. Every attempt we've tried at getting them together while sober has failed, so we thought we'd give this a shot. And look where they are now; alone, in a perfect garden that shows a romantic view of the night's sky. It's the perfect setting."

Bulma slowly nodded. Sharpener had given Gohan the spiked glass several hours ago and Gohan still only appeared to be extremely tipsy or maybe borderline drunk. It would be harmless if the effects were still so small even now.

"Ok, fine. But if something happens to them…" She didn't need to finish her threat. Instead she turned around to talk with others at the party. Erasa shot Sharpener a questioning look, but he only shrugged. Pulling out another one of his fake cigars, he lit it and took a large puff. All it did was create smoke, but it was exactly the effect he had wanted.

"I love it when a plan comes together."

XxX

"Ah, I needed that." Videl sighed as she placed her feet into the pond. Her high-heeled shoes lay at her side, having been kicked off when she entered the garden. "I can't believe some women can walk on these things all day long…"

Videl slowly leaned back, until she was lying in the grass, and spread herself out. Her jacket was unbuttoned, though she had forgotten when she had done that. She had a pleasant buzz going through her head as she leaned back.

'_Why am I so tipsy if I only drank two glasses of wine__?' _Before she could ponder on the reason of her semi-drunkenness, however, she giggled. _'It is one hell of a party though. And Gohan's dancing has definitely improved.'_

A smile appeared on her as she thought back on the entire party. She had started with dancing with Gohan, after he had finally managed to talk a bit, then Goten had come up and asked for a dance. After she had finished a fun dance with the hyperactive kid – who seemed to manage to use about five different styles of dance yet never miss a beat of the rhythm – she had once again danced with Gohan. Then Trunks and Goten had come up and the three of them had started some wild combination of dancing and wrestling, so Videl wasn't really sure what was going on anymore.

Then she got a drink with Gohan, Erasa and Sharpener again, before they danced as a group, spent some time talking with Bulma, #18 and Chichi about how stupid and stubborn men could sometimes be – she had mostly stayed silent throughout the conversation since the women were talking about their respective husbands.

She was also pretty sure she talked to some of the others, but things were kind of blurry. Gohan had definitely introduced her to his old teacher, a VERY tall man named Piccolo. According to Gohan, he was dressed as a Martian or something. Then some more dancing with a number of people – she might have even grinded with Gohan at one point, but she wasn't sure – before Krillin pulled her over to have a quick dance with him, #18 and Yamcha.

Both Krillin and Yamcha had proven themselves surprisingly good dance partners; despite the long cape and outfit that must have been uncomfortable, the scarred man never missed a step, kept a perfect rhythm and knew every dance move she knew, matching her perfectly. He did stay at enough distance to prevent even a hint of intimacy, which was probably very good.

After that particular dance, Videl had slipped out of the room and moved over to the garden she was now sitting in; she wanted some peace and quiet, and she got it.

A few minutes of silent enjoyment of the stream chilling her feet later, Gohan had entered the room and walked over to where Videl was lying. Without a word, the tall and muscular boy also dropped himself to the ground, looking up at the stars alongside Videl. The two teens looked at each other for a few seconds, dopy grins on their faces.

"Ribbit!"

The sudden interruption caused both teens to look at their feet – Gohan had placed his feet in the pond, boots and all – to see a strange frog standing on his hind legs and pointing at them. Unlike any frog Videl had ever seen; it was three different shades of green, it's belly was so pale it looked white but the oddest of all where the two large appendages that grew out of his head.

"Rib-rib-ribbit!" the frog went on, making more and more odd gestures, pointing at Videl, then her feet and tapping his head.

"Ribby-rib!" now the frog was pointing at Gohan and his voice almost seemed to sound angry.

"Rib-ribit-rib!" he pointed at Gohan's boots, seemed to tap his forehead and then make some more gestures that Videl couldn't make out.

"What is up with that frog?" Videl asked as she struggled to hold back her laughter.

"I don't know." Gohan said, sounding equally amused. "I caught him years ago, when I was still a kid, but he's never acted like that."

"Ribby-rib!" another frog suddenly jumped up and landed on the gesturing frog. As the frog with it's odd antennas was squashed by the new arrival, it somehow managed to make an annoyed facial expression, which caused both Gohan and Videl to burst into loud laughter, rolling around and clutching their stomachs, struggling to get enough air into their lungs.

After several minutes of continued laughing, the two raven teens were suddenly looking at each other, both lying on their sides and faces tinted red with laughter.

"Why were we laughing, it wasn't really all that funny?" Gohan finally said, his voice no more then a whisper. Belatedly he realized that his hand was supporting Videl's face, just like her hand was supporting his, but neither made a move.

"I… don't know." Videl replied in just as soft a whisper. As they spoke, both teens slowly moved their heads, leaning on their arms as they closed in.

Slowly, ever so agonizing slowly, both Gohan and Videl moved their heads closer and closer, slowly closing their eyes as they moved.

Finally, they touched.

* * *

As always much thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter.

Please leave a review telling me what you think.


	48. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

* * *

The soft cherish of the morning light slowly woke Videl up, teasing her eyes to return from the deep darkness of soft sleep. Still mostly asleep, Videl shifted her head to the side in an attempt to avoid the light and keep on sleeping, but that quickly proved a mistake. As soon as she shifted her head, tens of sharp, pointy knifes stabbed at her brain. Still half asleep, Videl could only raise a hand to her hurting head as the pain woke her up further, one painful stab at a time.

'_Ouch,_' was the first really conscious thought Videl had, although she still kept her eyes closed; the light was shining through her closed lashes bright enough and she didn't want to add to the pain, '_but I didn't drink all that much, did I? I only had five glasses of wine spread across the evening… and in between those plenty of punch, soda's and water… they must have hit me harder then I'd have thought._'

That was probably it; Bulma Briefs had hosted the party, so the wines were probably all the best that money could buy, far stronger then what she normally drank when she enjoyed a glass of wine. This sudden conclusion did little to ease the headache she was still feeling, nor did it give Videl any reason to get up and get moving. In fact, the pain was quite a good motivation to just keep lying there and sleep it off.

Still lying on her back, Videl decided to do exactly that; without having ever opened her eyes, she laid her head back on the pillow and tried to flip over; she always slept best when on her side, and doing so would also stop her from looking at the light. She tried to turn over, but failed: her blanket was too heavy for her to move, not even managing to shift her hips to a new position.

This was enough to give the daughter of Hercule pause, but she didn't start to panic until her blanket suddenly let out a groan – a very heavy and familiar-sounding groan – and tightened its hold on her.

'_Blankt's (blankets) aren't supposed to do that!_' the thought ran through her mind as her eyes shot open. The sight before her was enough to immediately make her forget about her headache, or her dry throat…

And as she was watching the picture before her, the memories of last night came crashing back at her.

XxX

Soundly asleep and feeling quite exhausted, Gohan felt the light beams on him as well. With the way he lay – half on his belly, half on his side oddly enough – the light wouldn't shine in his eyes but he felt its heat on the back of his head. Ignoring the heat and the level of semi-awake and –awareness that it brought, Gohan snuggled back into his pillow. It felt really good tonight, if a bit too small for his head for some reason. It was much softer, but at the same time more firm then his pillow had ever been. And it was comfortably warm too!

Bulma must have had new pillows ordered or something, and he was definitely going to make a –

Without warning, the pillow gave a jolt and tried to move. With Gohan's weight on it, the pillow was unable to move, but the surprise was enough to half-wake him. And that's when the sudden questions appeared, along with a headache. A headache not unlike what he had felt when someone had slammed him head-first into a mountain.

'_Wait a second… pillows can't move! And who's ever heard of a warm pillow anyways? What am I sleeping on… and what is that constant beating, it's drilling against my head, gonna give me a headache soon._'

Despite the surprise, Gohan still simply wanted to continue sleeping. He was still tired for some reason. So, instead of going to investigate the answer to his questions, he snuggled deeper into the pillow, holding it tight with both arms wrapped around it and tried to fall back asleep.

Before he could fall asleep though, the memories came crashing in. Bits and pieces of the night before. Up until he went out to find Videl, everything was clear… after that it became bits and pieces, but… he must have been confusing his dreams and real memories… after all, there was no way that _that_ was ever going to happen…

Before he could puzzle out more, or fall asleep again, his pillow let out a scream in a very familiar voice.

XxX

A realization washed over Videl, along with the memories; she was lying in bed… with Gohan… and both where stark naked! Even as the memories sorted themselves out and she started to remember the night before, she let out a scream. This was NOT what she had thought of… well… her… first time. While the scream was flying from her lips, she gained a clear picture of the events the night before.

**They had been sitting together in a garden, laughing at a frog that did things no frog should've been able to do. Then they'd kissed… Videl clearly remembered the soft, lingering, loving feeling of the first time her lips had made contact with Gohan's. It was so different from those first kisses she had received when she was fifteen, so much better. That soft kiss seemed to last forever.**

**Then they broke for air and suddenly they were kissing again, but the softness was gone; it wasn't clear which of them started, but both were kissing like it was the last thing they would ever do in their lives. Lips smashed into each other wild, hunger for more ruling as their tongues escaped their mouths and started a wild battle for dominance.**

**The next thing Videl knew, she was literally hanging off of Gohan, her arms locked around his neck and her legs around his waist, their mouths never apart for more then the second or two needed to catch their breath. They moved swiftly through the long hallways, Gohan's movement not even slowing despite her added weight, or the vicious kissing that still kept on. Oddest off all was that, without ever opening his eyes or letting go of her, Gohan still managed to maneuver her through hallways that were either completely empty, or gave him hiding places for the few servants that were busy working.**

**When they reached his room, they barely gave the door time to close before they all but tore off their clothing. Before they where even halfway through the room, nothing but their underwear had remained. They jumped on the bed, eagerly seeking each other out, as they continued their kissing, a bit less violent now, but still far from that loving cherish of the first kiss, while their hands eagerly roamed the near-naked bodies. **

**Mere seconds later, the two got fed up with the pieces of clothing still in the way. And since both where strong enough to tear such small pieces of clothing, the clothes where ruined beyond fixing, but neither cared about that as they…**

Now thoroughly red with embarrassment, Videl tried not to think about that part, but she couldn't stop the memories as they flooded forward. What had happened was not just simply making love as she had always envisioned her first time to be; a loving boyfriend, or maybe even husband already, doing everything slow, making her enjoy every minute of it, as they both made it known they would love nothing but each other, till the end of their lives.

But that wasn't what had happened and not all of it was Gohan either… she was pretty sure that she had –

'_Bad Videl!_' she immediately scolded herself. '_Don't even go there!_'

Telling herself not to think about it, however, had the effect that it usually had: she immediately thought back to it, remembering every aspect of what had happened. It had felt great, definitely one of the better feelings she had ever experienced, but it wasn't as mind-blowing, brain-killing, breath-stealing awesomely great feeling that she had been made to belief it would have been. Maybe not that, but… it was definitely –

What the feeling definitely was would have to wait; Gohan slowly rose up, holding one hand to his head to support it. He must also be feeling the effects of too much to drink, though she didn't see him with any sort of alcohol all night. Slowly he turned his head to look at her. Surprise was clear on his face as he saw her, clearly not believing that they where naked in bed together, but that was hardly what drew her eyes.

Instead, Videl's eyes were locked on Gohan's left shoulder. The shoulder that held his cross-shaped scar. Saiyaman's scar.

XxX

In another room on the other side of the mansion, Sharpener and Erasa also woke up. They had shared their guestroom at the Capsule Corporation, though Bulma was willing to try and make more room, giving each a private room. They (hoofdletter) had slept in the same room far too often to really care. There were two separate beds in the room anyway.

It was late by the time they woke up, already nearing lunchtime. Especially for Sharpener, this was a rare luxury; he normally woke at six in the morning to do his run and other training before breakfast. Probably because of that routine, he was up earlier than Erasa, but even so he stayed in bed, rolling over to continue sleeping for several more precious moments.

Erasa had already woken up and was also rolling over a few times, enjoying the bed a bit more, when Sharpener got up and moved to the private bathroom – every room had a private bathroom in this mansion it seemed. Half an hour later he came out of the bathroom, fully awake, done with the toilet and having taken a shower. Erasa was still lying in her bed, but she was fully awake as well.

"Morning." She smiled at him as he picked up a shirt and pulled it on. He echoed her while looking for some pants, but didn't pay much attention otherwise.

"So, do you know what happened with Gohan and Videl last night?" she asked. She had obviously been bursting, more likely than not already running hundreds of scenarios through her head. Sharpener himself had had a few of those scenarios running through his head as well, but those where the kind that he would never tell anyone about and made him realize he should stop watching and reading so much porn. That stuff _never_ happened like that in real life.

"I didn't check up on them after Gohan went to see her in that garden." he admitted to Erasa, now trying to pull on his pants. "For all we know, they could have ended up shagging each others brains out."

"Yeah right." Erasa snorted, while Sharpener snickered. It was just too impossible a scenario. "With those two? No way, not until they've been going steady for at least a year. Gohan's too much of a gentleman and naïve sweetheart to try and ask for it and Videl's too proud and stubborn, not to mention old-fashioned with that. Neither of them is going to make the first move, so it'll take forever for them to finally move on to sex."

"Yeah, definitely. I mean, I basically had to tell Gohan what sex was… talk about awkward conversations between friends."

"Thanks for some intel I didn't want! " Erasa let out a mock cry as she threw a pillow at him, but Sharpener simply caught the projectile and grinned at her.

"There's much more I could tell you that you don't want to know."

With that threat, he raised the pillow above his head and charged at her, both shrieking in laughter.

XxX

In Gohan's room, both Gohan and Videl where sitting awkwardly in bed, trying to keep as much distance between them without actually leaving the bed. Both were also clutching the blanket as high as they could, after Gohan had quickly recovered it from the floor; they had spent the entire night without one.

"You're Saiyaman."

Videl's voice held no poison, no hatred or loving acknowledgement. She was merely stating a fact now. But those were the first words uttered since they had both woken up. They had been silent for nearly five minutes, looking at each other and trying to avoid looking at each other at the same time, hiding under the covers of the bed.

"Don't try to deny it. I know it's you."

Gohan knew she was right; she had always had her suspicions, but now she had seen the final, conclusive evidence. He let out a sigh, before he started talking.

"Yes, I'm Saiyaman." He started, his voice was far more emotional than he had expected, but it was too late to stop now; the words came shooting out of his mouth. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, but… I was afraid. Afraid that you might be repulsed by my powers, by what I could do."

There, it was out. It felt more like an admission to himself then to her, but he didn't tell that to Videl. He locked eyes with her again, when suddenly her eyes lit up as if she had an idea and she moved in, kissing him on the lips. The kiss was short, but intense, and as soon as Videl drew back her head the two teens looked at each other.

"I won't be, I promise you. You're still the Gohan that I know." These words had a massive impact, Gohan immediately letting out a sigh of relief as he relaxed. "But, how did you get those powers?"

Now leaning against each other again, both more relaxed than (than) before, Gohan and Videl lost track of time as they talked. After a few minutes of talking, both fascinated by what the other had to say, the awkwardness was gone and Videl realized something, something that almost made her laugh.

The biggest problem that had been haunting her these past weeks – or maybe even months – was how divided her heart had been; her crush on both Saiyaman and Gohan was no longer a dilemma; they were one and the same! And those two crushes, now combined, were quickly becoming a very big liking – could it possibly even be something as wild as love? To this handsome young man. A young man who was trying to explain a concept to her about energy and how to use it, but she couldn't pay his lecture much mind, with her mind temporarily overrun by her emotions.

She interrupted Gohan mid-sentence by placing her lips over his once again, beginning a long, deep kiss.

XxX

Sitting behind his desk, Styring was going through several papers of his corporations rather then look at the screen while he talked with the Doctor. Much to Styring's annoyance, the man still refused to show any part of him on anything that could be recorded; despite the highly secure video-link Styring had arranged between the lab and his office, the scientist had disabled video footage on his side, meaning that Styring was stuck looking at a red bar in the screen, which said 'audio-only'.

"So, Doctor, where do we stand now?"

"As it stands, all units are now ready for immediate action. The latest models are still undergoing small tests to ensure detail handling is as it should be, but they are all ready for action at demand. The same is also true for you enhanced biological… units. They stand ready, waiting for armaments before they can initiate your plan. Why do you insist on keeping them involved, they are inferior to my creations?"

"I have already told you, Doctor. Warfare is something created by humans, so a human should always be present. That is all the reason you will need to know concerning my preference for keeping humans in the battle. And don't be troubled, please; the weaponry will arrive within a week. Once everything is set in place, begin our plan. Soon, the targets will be at their most vulnerable. And that is the time that we strike."

"Of course." The Doctor's voice was still laced with dislike; the enhanced humans would lead the first strike, at Styring's orders, and casualties would be kept to a minimum… that was not the way the Doctor wanted to operate, but this had been part of their agreement; if he would but follow Styring's orders now, until his objectives were completed, then he was finally done with the man.

"It will be done. In no time at all will our enemies burn."

* * *

Apologies for how short this chapter is. I've been quite busy these past few weeks. Amongst other things, I've been working 3 jobs, temporarily living somewhere else and I've rediscovered the fun of Final Fantasy 13. combined with the other things, it left little time for writing, so that explains the small chapter.

Much thanks to tailzje for offering to beta this chapter post-release so I can now present a corrected version. I will try to have the next chapter beta'd before release as usual.

Please leave a review telling me what you though about it.


	49. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/DBZ/DBGT/DBK or anything related to it.

* * *

Almost a week after the party at Capsule Corporation, Erasa was willing to tear out her hair in frustration. Something had happened at the party, something that involved Gohan and Videl, and she did not know what. As the self-appointed – and well-respected for it – gossip queen of Orange Star High that simply would not do. But more importantly, she was worried that something had permanently damaged the budding relationship between the two of them.

It had been years since Erasa had seen Videl this open with her emotions; she always pretended not to hide them, but only twice before did Videl smile and scowl so much in a short period of time. Once, she had had a crush on a student almost four years older then her – a common occurrence in thirteen-year old girls – and once when Videl had received her first kiss.

But that was almost two years ago now and since then – since it turned out that she could not have a relationship with the boy who stole her first kiss – Videl had always been somewhat closed about her emotions. Around Gohan, she failed to keep that closure up; he always drew out a smile or a scowl with his behavior, which meant a lot to Erasa.

And that was part of the reason why she was so frustrated at the two right now; ever since the party, the two had evaded each other like they had the plague and a few hundred other contagious diseases, and whenever they were in the same room – mostly because Sharpener and Erasa were in the same room, or because a class was busy – they tried to avoid looking at each other. Tried, and failed miserably. Every few seconds one would look at the other, then turn bright red and quickly look away.

Videl still acted like before whenever she was with Erasa, but being anywhere near Gohan was enough to make her drop the conversation and perform a very accurate imitation of a tomato. She supposed Gohan was much the same, only with Sharpener; whenever they split up these days, the boys formed one duo and the girls another.

As the bell rung for the final time that day, Erasa decided that she had had enough. Marching with a purpose, managing to clear a path through the crowd of students – no small feat, considering that she was even smaller then Videl and lacked the impressive reputation and physical prowess – she finally managed to find Videl. With a quick declaration of "we need to talk. Now!" the blond hooked her arm through her best friends' and dragged her up the stairs.

After a few minutes of dragging, she finally reached her goal; the door to the roof. The school had a large iron, un-climbable fence around the roof, making it legally possible for students to have free access to the rooftop at their will. Spinning around, Erasa looked at Videl, who appeared to be every bit as furious as the blond was feeling. An angry Videl meant trouble for anyone opposing her… but an angry Erasa meant big, big trouble for Videl.

"Erasa, what is wrong with you?" the raven-haired fighter demanded as she was finally released.

"That's my question Videl." Erasa returned, not even bothering to make up a response. "What has happened between you and Gohan?"

"What?"

"Before, you two always stuck close to each other if you could, but all of a sudden neither of you can stay anywhere near the other, you suddenly lose the ability to talk and look like all the blood in your body is flowing straight to your face and I want to know what happened."

"Look, it's nothing big!" Videl said, her anger vanishing like snow melting in an oven and instead being replaced by another bright blush. Erasa didn't allow Videl more time to get words in, repeating her tirade.

"It IS something big Videl, and you damn well know it is! You'd better start telling me right this instant what happened or I swear you will be sorry when I do find out!"

"L-look, Erasa, it's just…" taken aback by her friend's sudden anger and her own embarrassment about it all – it wasn't really something that you _talked_ about, no matter how much Erasa was her best friend – and that was one of the few things that would make Videl hesitant. "I… I made a big idiot out of myself at the party… I… I did something I shouldn't have done."

It _wasn't_ a lie… not exactly anyway.

But Erasa wasn't satisfied with that explanation, far from it. However, she knew that she had Videl at a disadvantage right now. Some of her calm returning to her, the normally bubbly blond knew that pushing Videl further would backfire on her. Instead, she did the most effective act she could to press her advantage.

Looking Videl straight in the eyes with a look that was dead-serious, Erasa slightly raised one eyebrow, sending a questioning look at Videl.

She would keep _the look_ up for as long as was needed, but Videl cracked within the minute.

Words started to spill from Videl's mouth, but right after the first sentence was completed, Erasa was almost certain she had heard wrong. Either that or all forms of reality had bent together to end the world as she knew it.

XxX

Meanwhile, some distance away, Gohan and Sharpener were sitting in a hidden spot in a local park, having a conversation very much the same. Of course, Sharpener played with more tact then Erasa and Gohan had actually been more forthcoming with the information then Videl had been.

However, when Gohan looked at Sharpener as he had finished his explanation, the demi-saiyan nearly burst out laughing at the look on his friend's face. Sharpener; always so composed and in control, often so mature beyond his years, was staring at Gohan with huge eyes and his mouth hanging open, seemingly without noticing.

Waving his hand in front of his friend's face, Gohan was finally able to snap Sharpener out of the trance, though the blond still took the better part of a minute to fully recover himself. In that time he was babbling half-complete sentences and not much more.

"Sharpener, will you snap out of it?" Gohan finally barked, annoyance bubbling up inside him. As soon as the words left his mouth, Gohan forced the emotion back down; it could and would prove dangerous if Gohan let negative emotions take him over. But still, did Sharpener have to be _so_ surprised and dumbstruck at the fact that Gohan had… had had sex with Videl?

He voiced as much, and that seemed to finally bring the blond back to full alertness.

"No, that's not why I'm so shocked!" He immediately said, before correcting himself. "Ok, maybe I am surprised, but come on; you can't expect me not to be. I mean, you and Videl… you're both not the kind of forward people I'd have expected that from but… I'm just surprised that's all. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you and all – if you actually manage to get a real relationship going with Videl, because you two haven't been acting very lovey-dovey lately – but I'm a bit surprised you'd moved that quickly."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Gohan had to admit, leaning back against a tree. "I'm still amazed it happened myself. But… I have no idea how I'm going to talk to Videl. I mean, how do you just pick up after something like _that!_"

"Oh shit!" Sharpener suddenly yelled as he shot up. Immediately he lowered himself to a crouch, checking to see if anyone was near – without having too, as Gohan had told him no-one was in the area and he kept sensing for anyone getting near – before finally whispering.

"Gohan, dude, please tell me you did at least use protection right?"

XxX

While Gohan was having what was probably the most awkward conversation of his life – even topping that one time that it had come to Krillin to explain about love and boys and girls back when he was 15 – there was a completely different atmosphere over at his house.

Since kindergarten and school were out early today, there was a small gathering at the Son residence. More then eager to get a chance to enjoy some fresh air and have Trunks and Bra play outside without a care, Bulma had taken Chichi's invitation to come visit her. The same invitation had been extended to Krillin and his family, so now the four kids were outside playing, while the three mothers were having a chat.

Recognizing that girl-talk was about to take place, Krillin had quickly excused himself and did some gardening in Chichi's small vegetable garden. The garden was far too small to feed the members of the Son family, but it was a useful and educative hobby.

"Bulma, do you know of anything that happened to Gohanat the party?" Chichi immediately opened, never one for tact or beating around the bush. "He's looked so distant and distracted ever since it happened."

"No Chi, I don't." Bulma responded, though she also wasn't too easy on the subject. The last time Gohan had gone through a rapid chance of behavior was still clear on her mind, along with it's effects. "And I know what you're talking about. Bra told me that, the day after the party; she was up really early, when no-one else was up yet. I think she had a nightmare but she denied that. Anyway, she went over to Gohan's room, because she wanted to sleep some more and you know how much she adores him. He had his room _locked_."

The emphasis on the word was hardly needed; Chichi and Goku had raised Gohan in a loving family, with trust being paramount and most doors not even having locks – the door to the food stores being just about the only exception. After all, who would travel a couple of miles through thick forest area to steal from a house with nothing worth stealing and the strongest man in the world there to defend it? And, of course, there was no-one in the world who could be a physical threat to Gohan except Vegeta and he would never sneak up on an opponent. That was below Saiyan pride.

"He what?" Chichi responded, but instead of becoming outraged or anything of the sort, instead she sank deeper into her chair. She too had a long memory. "But why would he do that?"

"Maybe he had something to hide?" #18 suggested, calmly sipping her tea. Although she liked and respected the boy she was not as emotionally connected to him as the other two women. Aside from that, she always looked at everything but her own family through very objective eyes, often being a voice of reason.

"My baby has nothing to hide!" Chichi immediately snapped, sitting back up in her chair. However, the venomous confidence only lasted a few seconds. "He wouldn't have anything to hide, would he?"

"You already know about his powers, his heritage and his secret identity as a superhero, what else is there he could keep a secret?" Bulma supported her lifelong friend, though she did wonder further. "Maybe he was already up as well and was thinking? You know he can get absorbed in his thoughts sometimes and he doesn't want to be disturbed when he's working."

"Yes, yes that must be it!" Chichi immediately cheered up, until #18 spoke up again.

"If he did that he would have probably forgotten to lock the door. You both seem to be forgetting that he's a teenager, along with everything else he is. Ever considered that maybe he was doing something that no-one is comfortable talking about?"

"What'd you mean?" Chichi asked, while Bulma gained a little color on her cheeks. Sometimes Chichi was almost as naive as her children.

"Well, he's a teenager so he's basically a bunch of walking, raging hormones. Maybe he was masturbating, or he could even have a girl over in his room."

"NO WAY!" Bulma immediately shot up, while Chichi did the same, shouting "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE, I RAISED MY BABY AS A GENTLEMAN!"

#18 simply raised an eyebrow at the explosive reaction, waiting for the two women to settle down again.

"What I mean is," Bulma started, looking quite ashamed for her little outburst, "that Gohan is far too… innocent and naïve are the only words that fit. He's far too innocent and naïve for something like that."

"My Gohan is a gentleman, not some stupid perverted disrespectful skirt chaser!" Chichi immediately added. She probably would have gone on about how Gohan would never have touched a woman unless they were married – after all, the wedding night was sacred! – And would never sink to something so despicable as self-pleasuring, had #18 not interrupted herself.

"Maybe you two think that, but he _is_ a teenager, with raging hormones and the looks to snare in any girl he wanted. Not to mention he obviously has feelings for those female classmates he brought to the party, so as far as I'm concerned, the option is still open."

Unable to speak up to that, both Bulma and Chichi settled in an uneasy silence, staring at each other.

XxX

As the moon-less sky became darker and darker outside, Videl and Erasa were sitting in one of the most uncomfortable silences in the history of their friendship. They were in Videl's room, but Erasa was sitting on the bed, tensed as a coil, while Videl was on a chair, looking ready to burst. Both tried to look at anything except each other, or the small device on Videl's dresser. They had to wait for a few minutes before the test was completed.

As soon as Videl had told Erasa the entire story, the blond had arranged for a 'friend' of hers – who Videl suspected was just a random person in the street she had bribed – to buy the most accurate pregnancy test available outside of hospitals. After all, neither of them could buy it themselves. Videl would bring a rain of press – not to mention the wrath of her father – and Erasa would start a wildfire of rumors about her fake relationship with Sharpener. Kissing and faking being totally in love was ok, but rumors about her being pregnant? No thank you!

"I still can't believe it you know." Erasa said, her eyes locked on the ceiling. These were the longest minutes in either of their lives. "I can't believe that you actually, you know, _did it_!" The last came out in an odd combination of a squeal and embarrassment. Videl immediately went scarlet red once more, but at least Erasa's mentioning of the subject had finally broken the tension.

"I was drunk!" Videl nearly shouted in her defense, but she knew it was a particularly weak argument. People did stupid things when they got drunk, but it was their own fault for reaching that state. "But I still can't believe those few glasses of wine got me so badly. Anyway, I wasn't acting like myself! You know that. I would never, _ever_ do something like that normally…"

"I know, normally you're kind of a prude." Erasa said, a smile returning to her face. "But you know; you could hardly have made a better choice; Gohan is pretty much the ideal package of a man. So, tell me; how was it?"

"Well… it felt good I suppose, although not as mind blowing as some people manage to make it sound… but…" Her cheeks gained even more color as she talked about that – you did NOT talk about your… experience in that area… right? – but her next words would be even heavier to say.

"But what?" Erasa eagerly asked, leaning forward, cupping her face with her hands.

"But I… I can't deny that… that I have…" It had to come out sometime, so what better time then now? If she waited too long it would lose power, instead being forced by… something else. "I can't deny that I have feelings for Gohan." There, it was out. But more words rose to her mouth. "I think I may love him."

Immediately the heavy silence returned, though it was different this time; Erasa was watching Videl with wide, shocked eyes and her mouth slightly open, while Videl did not look away from her friend; she was not ashamed of her feelings, but having said it out loud gave it a… finality she hadn't anticipated.

The silence was broken before either one could speak up, but not by the two teenagers. A soft 'bing' sound was given from the pregnancy test, indicating that it was finished. Looking at each other in equal anticipation and dread, the two friends stood up and slowly, warily made their way over to the dresser. This would be the definite answer.

Together they looked at the outcome, tension making their movements rigid.

A red light. Not pregnant.

XxX

Just like his last experience with alcohol, Gohan stayed at the Capsule Corporation for a few days to recover. Not only did the large building have the perfect means of making the alcohol leave his system faster – sweating helped get it out of his system, drastically speeding up his recovery – but it was also much closer to school, which was a good thing; it would take Gohan the better part of an hour to get there from home.

Staying at Capsule Corporation also afforded him the added advantage of being able to check up on the work of his research teams without any problems. In fact, Gohan had scheduled four different meetings that evening, one for each of his personal projects and another for general information regarding the division. But right now, having just returned to school, Gohan was in the gravity chamber.

With the gravity set at a lowly – by Vegeta's words – thirty times Earth's normal gravity, Gohan was continuing his attempt at creating a new form. Without guidance, it proved more difficult then he had thought, but he worked out most of the basic stances in theory. Trick Stances he called them, based on their nature; to trick an enemy into attacking an opening that was not there.

Sheer basic anatomy made it impossible for any stance to be without openings, so every style of fighting used it's own ways to overcome the weaknesses, either by forcing the opening to be as small as possible, or having many different stances, thus many different weaknesses and strengths and more ways. Gohan was trying to use the openings in his own stances as a strength, something he had never heard of before.

Every stance had a blatantly obvious opening, preferably one that would open to a critical area, like his neck, liver or ribs, but that was the trick; a quick shift of weight and slight movement – faster then anyone could initiate an attack – would ensure the area was defended and a counterattack could be launched immediately. It had other openings, naturally, but the objective was to distract the enemy with the large opening. Skilled fighters almost always went for the best opening, something they could read almost instinctively.

Of course, it was by no means ready to be used yet; Gohan was still working on how to actually use the stances and attacks in direct combat, but that would come with time. The basics were made and everything else would have to follow after.

XxX

When Gohan finally reached the roof, he found Sharpener already waiting for him. Halfway through the day, Sharpener had quickly and quietly asked Gohan if they could talk, alone, at the end of the day. He had something he wanted to talk about and didn't want anyone else present. Gohan had agreed, but he couldn't help notice that the blond still looked kind of stressed out.

Of course, Gohan had been on cloud nine all day long; his projects were thriving, his new form was coming along nicely, and best of all, Videl had talked to him again today, even gave him a quick kiss when she was sure no-one was watching. He could now probably call Videl his girlfriend, though he hadn't actually asked her yet, so it wasn't official.

But that wasn't the time to continue that train of thought; instead he approached Sharpener, wondering what was going on.

"So, what's up?" Gohan asked, staying as neutral as possible.

"Gohan, I've got something very important that I want to ask you." Sharpener said, his voice grave, though he had seemed to have lost some of the tension he had been showing all day. "I've been wanting to ask you if you would be my Second at my championship match."

Gohan was silent, not giving an answer yet, surprised by the question. The silence, however, seemed to put Sharpener more on edge.

"You don't have to if you don't want to." The blond stammered, "But if you do, it'd mean a lot to me. You'd be my coach in the fight, give me advice in between the matches and make sure I'm ready to continue fighting."

"Ehm, geez, I don't know what to say… thanks I suppose." Gohan started, still stunned. He knew what a Second did, but to just be asked to take that position, instead of his normal coach… "But shouldn't your real coach take that position? I mean, I'm no boxing expert or anything, I barely keep track of the rules."

"I already talked it over with my coach, he's okay with it, as long as you agree!" Sharpener's face perked up, "Actually, he's the one who suggested it, because he hardly recognized me as his student when I got back from your place. He was really impressed with everything you taught me, and he thinks you can teach me a lot more. So, what'd you say?"

"Well, if you and your coach both agree, then sure I suppose?"

XxX

It was already late at night, but Gohan didn't feel exhaustion. The lights in his office were all on, but he was the only one present on the floor. Even the cleaners had long-since left. Despite that, Gohan's attention was completely on the reports he was reading, an update on how the projects were going.

Already a large pile of other projects sat on the other end of his desk, projects he didn't personally lead, that he only needed to check up on and give ideas and corrections where needed. Those had taken him nearly four hours already, but he had intentionally saved his own projects for last.

The first report was about project 'Super-Cycle' – a project-name that Vicky had given it and no-one had disagreed with her. All was going well, and with the most recent adjustments and alteration of several materials, it was expected that soon a test-model could be constructed. A holographic image of how the cycle was intended to look when finished was included as well and Gohan was quite pleased as it went. They required little adjusting in this stage, since they were now only doing calculations on what sort of materials would be best. Only after the product was created would a cost-production ratio be considered, that was how Capsule Corporation worked.

According to the latest expectations, construction on the test-model would start in three weeks and, according to the engineers included, should be finished in another three to four weeks. Motorcycles weren't that hard to create and the entire layout was already built.

Likewise the subject of the second report, the 'Mobile Graviton Project' was also very positive. More adjustments had been made, along with a change in material that should be able to stabilize the suit's gravity system. Another prototype was being built based on this new information, since the last model had been completely destroyed by Vegeta. By all estimations, that model should be completed in two weeks, fully ready for testing. But even while the prototype was being created, another theory of gravity-control was being discussed.

According to the report, recently a new, experimental, method had been developed in Polen for the creation and expansion of a magnetic field. Tom had suggested this to the team and explained the possibilities of using this new technology to support the suit. Gohan wholeheartedly agreed. He had quickly looked up on the research and it looked promising, though the system was still unreliable. If they could implement that, it would be possible to wear the Mobile Graviton Suit and safely use energy.

But before Gohan could lose himself in that idea – one he wasn't sure Bulma would thank him for, if Vegeta learned he could train twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week she would probably not be happy – and instead he bent over the last report. The clock at his desk informed him that it was almost three o'clock in the night and Gohan still had school tomorrow, but for once the teenager didn't care. This last research was perhaps his most critical.

At some outrageous costs, the research team had finally managed to create a device that could read the energy of anything in it's radius. Gohan chuckled, realizing that they had effectively created a Scouter that would take up an entire room, but as he read on he learned it was much more then that.

The machine didn't read energy-levels specifically – though it could detect differences in strength, that wasn't it's purpose – but instead read if a life form had energy inside of it and how this energy moved inside the body. At first, the results had been obvious; Vegeta had been used as a test subject under orders from his wife, and he obviously gave of a lot of energy. The same held true for the energy-balls he created. This was what first caught Gohan's attention.

Apparently, there was large fluctuations in the energy that Vegeta had created; his physical energy was a constant, always giving off the same signal, but the balls he created were a little different each time. Yet even this did not hold true; when he created a specific technique – the Big Bang Attack was used as a test, though not fired – the fluctuation between it's energy-signal was minimal. Apparently, specific techniques required the user to mold energy into exactly the same patterns every time, as opposed to randomly created energy balls.

As fascinating as that was; it paled when compared to the next revelation. After Vegeta, the testing had continued on an ordinary human – one of the researchers – before continuing on to various animals, either mammal, bird, fish or reptile, and then even further. Every single living creature gave of an energy signal; that much Gohan knew. But what he had not expected was that even plants and trees could give off an energy signal. It was incredibly weak compared to either animals or men, but it was still there.

For that matter, apparently the physical shape, condition, form and other bodily things seemed to affect the amount of energy a creature possessed very much; larger animals like dogs had more energy then small mice, who in turn had more then a simple twig. With this knowledge, the team had already formed a small theory, though they immediately claimed to need more evidence to prove it.

Still, what he read in the report was just what he needed. Grabbing a notebook, Gohan started to jot down several ideas. With the data from this research, teaching Videl how to use her energy would be a piece of cake!

* * *

As always thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter.

Please leave a review telling me what you thought.


	50. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: don't own DBZ or anything related to it, I'm just borrowing it for my own fun.

* * *

Twilight was already gathering on the rooftop of Orange Star High despite it only being late afternoon, but neither Gohan nor Videl cared much about the skyline. They were sitting together, both leaning against the fence placed there to prevent suicide jumps, both trying to start a conversation, but never getting further then a simple 'ehm…'.

Finally, after having sat together for over an hour, not talking, Videl forced herself to speak up; after all, she had been the one to call Gohan to the roof. Still, getting started required more courage then she would have expected. It was also a completely different kind of courage from what she used to charge headfirst into enemy gunfire, which probably made it all the more difficult for her.

"Ok, Gohan… I… I asked you to get up here because… because I wanted to tell you that, well… that nothing will… I mean… we're not… ah, no wait! Ehm, Gohan, I wanted to tell you that I'm not pregnant or anything else lingered after… you know."

Finally it was out and Videl let out a heavy sigh. Next to her, Gohan was looking completely surprised at her, before he also let a sigh of relief escape.

"Actually, I... I'd never even thought about that." he admitted, his voice also being dragged out, but at least now they were talking. "That was really stupid of me, I should have thought of that before… well… I'm glad to hear that though, so I guess we should count ourselves lucky."

Videl only nodded, still feeling somewhat numb inside. At her side, Gohan looked much the same.

"So, Videl, what's going to happen now?" He finally asked, turning his head to look at her. Videl locked eyes with him and was stunned by what she saw. Gohan was a kind soul, almost always having a friendly, somewhat idiotic look on his face, except for when he was doing something related to science or martial arts – those subjects always made him serious and anything but idiotic – but now… now he was looking at Videl was an equal mix of intensity and barely hidden fear. Videl didn't need a mirror to know that a similar look was on her face as well.

"I mean, I really like spending time with you and I don't want us to stop being friends, but… what are we going to do now?"

"Remember what we said during… you know?" Videl finally asked, neither moving but their eyes still locked. "And after, when we woke up in the morning? I said that I wasn't disgusted with what happened, with what I found out. And I also like spending time with you Gohan."

Well, she might not have used those exact words, but that had been what she had meant. Still, Gohan seemed to understand what she was saying, though he looked like he was swallowing a tree before he could speak his next words.

"Videl… will you… will you be my girlfriend?"

If Gohan's voice had been any less tense, Videl might have giggled at the almost childish question. They had kissed, all but confessed their love to each other and even _slept_ together, yet he still felt the need to ask that question? Still, it was very much like Gohan.

"Of course I will!" She finally said, managing to stop herself from jumping for joy as she closed the distance between Gohan and locked their lips together. It was just like that first kiss at the gardens; soft, sweet and lingering. They both slowly backed away, eyes closed to keep the lingering feeling as long as possible.

After a minute or so, Videl leaned in closer to Gohan, happy to have finally resolved the situation and come out with a boyfriend as well. Erasa was going to go crazy over this!

"There is one thing though." Videl breathed, leaning her head on Gohan's shoulder. "We'll have to keep this quiet as much as possible." She hated that this was needed, but if she actually wanted to have some time with her boyfriend – damn, that sounded good! – Videl would have to make sure this remained silent. "I want us to have time together, to be us. If it becomes known that we're dating, you'll be a world celebrity by next tuesday, even faster if they discover your family line. And, well, my dad… he has this…"

"This rule about you not dating anyone unless they can defeat him in a fight right? Sharpener told me about it." Gohan continued, his arm finding it's place over Videl's shoulder, hugging her closer to his chest. "We can keep it quiet for a while, at least until we get used to the idea of, well, us. I guess my mom would kinda overreact as well. She'd probably demand we get married tomorrow, if not faster! But we'll keep it a secret. Only Erasa and Sharpener are allowed to know, right?"

"Like we could ever keep anything from those two!" Videl chuckled, her arm wrapped around Gohan's waist. "But yeah, a secret between us and them and no-one else."

Locking eyes once more, the new couple leaned in close again, quickly forgetting all else in the world, but the person sitting right next to them.

XxX

Sweat was pouring over his body, but Sharpener hardly noticed it as he focused on the fight. Anything less than total concentration was an instant defeat when facing Gohan, especially when he was this fired up.

Already the two had been sparring for eight rounds of five minutes each and both had bruises to show for it, though Gohan had not slowed down at all. Sharpener couldn't help but feel exhaustion slowing his movements, but for Gohan this was nothing; the man could fight without pause for a week if needed!

Swaying back and to the side, Sharpener barely evaded Gohan's left hook and immediately swung out, almost hitting Gohan's temple, but his best friend raised his shoulder just in time to deflect the blow, swung his entire weight around and again charged towards the blond.

After another minute of tight fighting, the bell finally rung, signaling the end of practice, and Sharpener immediately fell to the ground, breathing hard. Gohan was standing next to him, a fine layer of sweat covering him but nothing else.

'_Damnit, can't he at least pretend to be breathing hard!_' Sharpener mentally demanded, knowing how ridiculous the wish was. Gohan was, quite literally, a gazillion times stronger then he was, or would ever be. Over at the side of the ring, the rest of Orange Star High's boxing club was completely dumbstruck. Even the coach, a respected old-timer who had raised multiple boxers into the national ranks, was openly staring at the two teens with his mouth hanging open.

Under Sharpener's look, the coach quickly regained his composure and entered the ring as well, while Gohan helped Sharpener to his feet again.

"I'll be damned boy; that was the best damn imitation of someone else's style I've ever seen!" the old man exclaimed as he closed in on Gohan. "That was a perfect copy of the champ's style, right down to the mix-up of charging in and outboxing. How'd you learn that from just watching a couple of tapes! It's un-freaking-believable!"

"Don't be so surprised gramps." Sharpener laughed, though his abdomen and chest still hurt from the exercise. "That's just how good this guy is. Anyway, we're taking five, so the ring is all yours again, right Gohan?"

"Yeah, it's time I did some explaining to you anyway." Gohan said, the two of them leaving the ring and moving over to one of the many benches in the gym. "Drink your water, I'll be back in a bit and then I'll start explaining on the new part of training; you're going to learn a new style of defense."

Sharpener remained seated while Gohan walked off, only to return less then a minute later, holding several pieces of paper, each with four holes pocked into them. Sitting down once again, Gohan placed four fingers through the holes in one of the papers and started explaining.

"Ok, imagine that this piece of paper is your abdomen, so it's fully tensed when you're in a match." Gohan held the paper stretched between his fingers, tight as a spring. "Now, this is the first, most traditional and safest way of defending when you take a hit."

With his other hand, Gohan formed a fist and smashed into the paper, instantly tearing it.

"But as you can see, all it does is absorb force, it doesn't actually do anything with it, other then forming a wall. When hit with enough power, it'll collapse and your enemies will have free reign to bring down pain. Of course, this is very difficult, but it can still happen. Not to mention that the continues tension on the abdomen is very draining on the body's energy and can, in fact, make breathing more difficult. Now, this is another type of defense."

Another piece of paper was placed in Gohan's hand, the fingers poking through the holes and again Gohan smashed his fist into it. This time, though, he moved his hand back a little and allowed the paper to slack just a little. Withdrawing his fist, Gohan showed the paper to Sharpener. Unlike before, the paper was now completely intact.

"This second type of defense allows you to manipulate the force of the opponent's attack and completely disrupt it. By moving backwards, the point of impact is reduced, cutting the power of the attack in half and by moving with the hit the force is further neutralized. This requires enough moving space to move back with the punch, but is effective in completely neutralizing the enemy's attack. Of course, it's only possible to execute this kind of defense with first-rate reflexes, stepping back and swaying with the attack in less then a split second. Now, there is still one more type of defense."

Again Gohan held the paper between his four fingers, but this time he didn't keep it tense. Instead, it hung from his fingers without any tension to keep it up. The instant before his fist made contact though, Gohan immediately snapped the paper to tension and his fist stopped it's advance. The paper was completely unscathed.

"This is the third and most dangerous sort of defense. By relaxing your muscles you save a lot of energy and are allowed to breathe freely, but if you're caught by surprise or even a millisecond too late in predicting an enemy's attack, you can't defend yourself. However, because you tense your abdomen at the exact moment of impact, you will send any force of impact right back to your opponent, unless the punch was strong enough to break through the tension in your abdomen. This is a high risk – high reward defense, but you can not use this kind of thing based on reactions. The only way to utilize this defense is predicting when and where your enemy will strike you and then reacting accordingly."

Picking up the pieces of paper, Gohan threw them in the trashcan before continuing.

"There's only one reason I'm telling you about these different kind of defenses; your nervous system is incredibly fast, your reflexes and ability to learn new movement patterns are nothing short of prodigious, which gives you a chance at learning all of these different styles of defense."

XxX

"Erasa, for the last time, I am not going to buy a skirt that is slide open in the side so far it doesn't even cover anything!" Videl argued with her friend as the blond once again brought out a tight skirt which would do next to nothing to hide her legs.

"Oh, phooey!" Erasa pouted as she placed the skirt back. "But Vi, why not? I mean, with your legs you'll have _you-know-who_ drooling all over you! or did you forget how his eyes nearly popped out at the party?" Of course, her voice never carried above a whisper while discussing Gohan, but just to be safe the two had agreed on a no-naming policy unless they were completely alone somewhere.

"Erasa; stop doing that." Videl ordered while looking through the rack of hot-pants, quickly picking out a few to try on. It was pure coincidence that the models she _did_ pick out happen to give a slight accent on her behind, honestly it was! "You-know-who likes me for me, not because I dress up like a girl and get all weak-kneed and airheaded around boys."

"I know, Vi, I know… you've only said that about nine times in the last fifteen minutes. Are you sure you're not in denial? Nice pants by the way; go try them on!"

"Watch it you!" Videl nearly growled as she passed her friend on the way to the changing rooms. "I am not in denial, nor will I ever be!"

"You're doing a real good job convincing me of that." Erasa giggled back, picking out more skirts and dresses, both for Videl and herself. This was only the seventh store they had entered, but well over four hours had already passed since they arrived at the mall and they had left each of those shops with at least four new pieces of clothing. Each.

"Yeah, well, anyway, like I was saying, I'm not going to dress up all stupid just because of that! I'm going to remain myself and that's that. I mean, he likes me for me, not for something I could possibly be."

"Girl, if you want to make me think you're not in denial, I'd recommend you just stop talking." Erasa almost broke out in laughter, but they both took a boot to try on the clothes they had picked out. Both also came out at the same time, giving a critical eye to the clothes.

"Ok, Vi, I like those pants, they'll go really well with that light-blue shirt we picked out in the last store." Erasa complimented.

"I think you should place that skirt back right now." Videl in return told Erasa. "The slit on the side runs far too high, with every step you take it literally shows your ass. Not to mention the color will become outright horrid after you've washed it a couple of times."

"Yeah, you're right. This makes me look downright sleazy. But back on the subject; you don't have to completely change who or what you are, but it is nice if you can go that extra distance to make yourself a little more pretty just to impress your _you-know-what_ isn't it?"

Of course, Erasa kept very silent that sooner or later, Videl would make some changes about herself because she had a boyfriend. Being in a relation simply caused things like that to happen, but if she told Videl it would happen, the girl would become so mule-headed that she would prevent any change from happening, stopping her relationship before it even really started.

"Oh crap, look at the time!" Erasa suddenly exclaimed as she checked her watch. "We were supposed to meet the guys ten minutes ago!"

"Well then, let's get going! We'll change back real quick, I'll go pay for these and then we'll get going" Videl said, the two of them quickly ducking into the changing boots once again. A minute or so later, Videl was done and already in line at the register, waiting for Erasa to catch up. When her friend had shown up, handed the clothes back to one of the employees to place back and the two had paid, they quickly made their way to the café where they had agreed to meet.

"Hey, E, you really think so?" Videl suddenly, almost shyly asked when they were just around the corner from the café. The sudden use of 'E' instead of her name didn't escape Erasa. Her friend really was nervous. "You really think I should try to be prettier for him?"

So that was what she was nervous about. Videl had never before had a relationship and only had a couple of real crushes, so she had no personal experience to fall back on. Erasa, on the other hand, had already had three relationships, two of them lasting longer then half a year – including one to what had later proven to be a homicidal maniac – so she was the best source of knowledge for Videl to tap from. Movies and stories always made everything look so easy.

"Well, don't force anything from yourself, but it certainly can't hurt to put on a little make-up when you're going on a date with him or spend some extra time picking out your clothes, just basic stuff like that." Erasa said in her most comforting tone of voice. "Don't overdo it, just take it easy and everything will work out fine."

With another nod, Videl swallowed once – and the girl was trying to act like she wasn't nervous at all! – and then passed the corner, Erasa quickly following. They quickly spotted the two boys, sitting at one of the outside tables and clearly enjoying an amusing story.

Sharpener was telling in his own vivid way, arms swinging to give demonstrations and emphasis, while Gohan was nearly doubled over laughing. As soon as Gohan spotted the girls, however, he punched Sharpener on the shoulder, pointed in their direction and the two quickly stood up to come over and help with the bags.

'_I don't know why they keep complaining when we take them shopping with us, even if we don't take them along, they still insist on carrying all the bags!_' Erasa thought in amusement, though she was more then happy to have Sharpener take the multitude of bags she was carrying.

From the corner of her eye, Erasa also didn't miss the quick peck on the lips Videl gave Gohan when he leaned closer to pick up her bags. Both blushed, but other then that nothing changed between them. Anyone other then Erasa might have missed the movement at all, or mistaken it for a peck on the cheek instead.

"Oh right, Videl, are you busy tomorrow?" Gohan asked when they sat down. Of course, the boys already had their drinks, but they ordered fresh drinks alongside the girls. Looking at her boyfriend, Videl told him that she had nothing planned for the next day. Tomorrow would be a Sunday, one of the days that Videl really had little to do, especially since they had all finished their homework for the rest of the year.

"Ok, that's good. Do you think you can come meet me in the park then?" Gohan asked, his eyes never leaving Videl's.

Videl didn't say a word back, only nodding her consent.

'_Damn__, if they keep this kind of behavior up, they'll keep it secret for a week, tops! The way they're mooning over each other… it is really sweet though!_'

XxX

The next day, Videl and Gohan were sitting together in the park, though Gohan had chosen a rather secluded place to sit. In the middle of a field of grass a distance away from the main path, the two of them were the only ones around for quite a distance.

"Well, I asked you to come over, so I could start teaching you about the principles of Energy." Gohan started. "You expressed an interest in it, so I thought you might like it if I taught you a bit about how it works."

Videl could barely keep the feeling of disappointment down – he hadn't called her over for the first real date then! – but it was almost immediately washed away by a wave of excitement.

"And, when you master how to use Energy, we can meet anywhere we want, all around the world, without anyone finding out…" Gohan shyly added, instantly making Videl perk up further. She hadn't thought of that, but if they could both fly… they really could go anywhere they wanted, without anyone knowing where they were!

"Well, let me start with the most boring part; the theoretical basis." Gohan began explaining, his voice almost immediately taking on a dull, lecturing tone. "For a long time, we never really knew what Energy was, but recently we've been doing some research – based on the image you showed me of Saiyaman's fight with the androids – and we're getting a much better understanding of what the Energy we use in battle is exactly and how it works."

"Uh-huh." Videl nodded, signaling Gohan to go on, but she did feel a stab of pride; she had given him the idea for the research, something he wouldn't have thought of himself.

"Another name for Energy is Ki, which is actually a surprisingly accurate name. The research has shown that the Energy we use is actually kinetic energy given shape and form, through an as-of-yet unknown process. As you know, kinetic energy is the energy of movement and an energy type that is present in every living creature by default, allowing fluids and control signals to be moved. This energy is both created by and needed for movement, a somewhat unique characteristic. In theory, this means that by moving more, you create more energy, resulting in being allowed to move even more."

Videl gave another nod, though Gohan was now completely in lecture mode and probably completely missed the signal. She did try to pay a lot of attention though, since this _was_ fascinating.

"Eventually, by even training, the energy that gets stored in the body because of the continuous movement, is more then will be needed to act. At this point, it becomes possible for living creatures to use this 'overload' of energy for different purposes, but that is rather difficult. Learning to use and feel that 'overload' of energy is the purpose of these trainings. The energy is still part of your body and carries your genetic code, which allows your mind to control it. The stronger you become; the more energy you build in inside your body and you can thus control more power; it's a common occurrence that people who learn to use the energy stored inside their body suddenly experience a skyrocketing of power."

"This mostly comes from learning to use the energy in your body to strengthen yourself; once you know it's there and how to access it, by instinct you will begin to integrate the extra energy into your muscles, making them stronger and faster then before. By doing this, you can break through what is normally assumed as the human limit and become much more powerful. Any questions?"

"Yeah, if your strength comes from energy build up inside your body, how come you don't become as weak as a normal person when you fully relax?"

"Aah, a good question." Gohan sounded amused, though he did have to think for a second or two before he could answer. "It's mostly because you never fully relax. Even when you're sleeping, your muscles remain at a certain level of tension, the same holds true for energy. Rest and relaxation allow you to ease your body, but the energy still remains inside of you. yet, when the body becomes too relaxed – like, for example, when you have taken medication or alcohol and your body has a violent reaction to it – some of the energy in your body is removed, weakening you somewhat. This happens with normal people as well; they feel weak and pathetic when their bodies are softened too much. Eventually, the body will work it's way back up to the normal levels of energy, but it takes time. Good enough?"

"Yeah, let's get started!" Videl exclaimed, already jumping with you.

"Well, like I said, Energy is created by movement, so eventually you're going to go work on feeling it while moving. For now though, you're going to have to become aware of the existence of energy first. Sit down, close your eyes and _feel_."

Videl did as she was told, immediately taking on a meditation position she had learned long ago and performed at least twice a week.

"Now, in turn, start tensing and relaxing the muscles in your arms, focus your thoughts there and try to feel everything going on there. Feel how the muscles start their movements, fiber by fiber. Once you have a good feeling, keep your thoughts there, and keep focusing on that feeling."

It was odd for Videl, the sensation of feeling so close to your muscles tensing, while she normally focused her thoughts on relaxing her muscles, but after a couple of minute, she did get a feeling for it. Apparently, the achievement showed on her face, because from there, Gohan continued his instruction.

"Good, now, keep that feeling in your thoughts and try to move it towards your hands. The tensing of every individual muscle fiber and it's relaxing, slowly move it towards your hands, with only your thoughts. Very good Videl, that's it. Bring that feeling from the muscles, to your wrist and then to the tip of your fingers. You're doing excellent, keep it up."

Though Videl stopped tensing and relaxing her muscles, she did keep the feeling and thought of it as a sharp focus in her mind and tried to focus the sensation she had felt from those muscles along the path Gohan had described. It was very odd, but somehow, the places her thoughts passed felt… warmer somehow.

"Excellent, Videl, now, try to slowly push that feeling from your fingertips and hold it in the palm of your hand. Slowly, gently move it away, but keep your thoughts focused on nothing but that feeling! Feel the air in the palm of your hand pulsating like your muscles did. Now, keep your thoughts focused and slowly open your eyes."

Videl did as she was told but when she caught the first glimpse of her hands, her eyes immediately show open! There was a small ball of light floating in each of her palms! As soon as the realization hit her, her concentration was lost and the balls dispersed. Sitting right across from her, Gohan's expression was nothing short of amazed as her regarded his girlfriend.

"Videl, that was amazing!" He immediately exclaimed. "Even, Trunks, Goten and I took well over a month each to learn to get in touch with our energy, but you did it in less then an hour! Heck, you succeeded on the first attempt! That's, well… incredibly amazing!"

Videl felt her face going crimson under the praise, but she also became aware of two aspects while she was blushing. First off, her arms suddenly felt like they were made of lead, though the weight was rapidly decreasing, second off… she could feel a sudden awareness throughout her entire body almost immediately, like a light pulsating feeling in every single one of her muscles. Gohan had been right; all she had needed was to become aware of the feeling once to feel it throughout her entire body.

Under Gohan's instruction, she repeated the meditation twice more, each becoming easier then the last, and by the third time she could create and hold the ball of Energy even when she looked at it. Of course, her arms felt like they were made of pure concrete by that time, but that was besides the point! She could use Energy! And the sensation she was feeling… it made her feel more alive then ever before.

Of course, her first lesson didn't end there; following the meditation-like exercise, Gohan had Videl going through her forms while also focusing on the sensation of Energy. A confusing exercise to be sure – she had to focus on two different aspects, while normally she only had one – but like the mediation, Videl quickly picked that up as well. By the end of the session, almost three hours later, Videl even surprised Gohan by throwing her little ball of Energy at him.

Of course, the ball disappeared when it was more then two feet away from her and did little more then give some bright light when it did, but that didn't matter! She could use Energy!

It wasn't until Gohan told her that the training was over and they should go get some lunch that Videl even realized that she was covered in sweat, or that she was soooo tired that Gohan really needed to help her up. She couldn't have stood up on her own, hell, she could barely stand as it was.

But all of that didn't matter! Not when she was learning such wonderful things from her _boyfriend_! A thought entered Videl's mind that she could barely stop herself from uttering, since it was completely true.

'_I definitely like this!_'

* * *

As always thanks to my beta Kushin eX for going over this chapter.

Please leave a review telling me what you think.


	51. Chapter 51

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

* * *

It was a clear night, which normally meant that Erasa would call up Videl and the two best friends would find something for the two of them to spend their Friday evening. Unfortunately, Erasa was going to have to learn to spend her evenings alone, courtesy of Videl's new boyfriend.

'_This is so weird!_' Erasa thought to herself. '_It's always been me that's taken by the boys, the only reason Vi couldn't show up for our Friday evening meetings was because she was either busting a heist or on some sort of training-camp. This is going to take some getting used __to__._'

As it was, Videl and Gohan were spending almost the entire day together, every day, as soon as school was out. Erasa whole-heartedly supported their dating – She had been instrumental in getting them together! Without her help, Videl wouldn't even have realized she liked the boy – but the empty nights were… new.

'_Oh well, if Vi can't come over, maybe Sharpy can._' Before the thought had been finished she had already picked up her phone and made the call. Keeping the phone to her ear, she waited for her second-longest friend to pick up his phone. Maybe they could go check out a movie or something, or go out to town together, keeping up the appearance of the lovey-dovey couple.

'_It's already past ten, his training finishes at half past eight._' Erasa's annoyance was clear even in her thoughts, '_so why is he waiting so long to pick it up?_' Normally Sharpener picked up his phone within three rings, but she was almost ready to hang up when he finally answered.

"Yo Erasa, what's up?" If Erasa hadn't known that was how Sharpener had picked up his phone for years, she wouldn't have heard it because of the immense racket coming from his end of the line. It sounded like he was in the frontlines of a war, with all the loud bangs and yells and whatnot.

"Sharpener, what the hell is all that noise!" She yelled in the phone, hoping he could hear her better then the other way around. "Where are you?"

"Sorry, I can barely hear you!" Sharpener yelled back, "One of my housemates is watching an old war-movie with the sound raised to insane! Every single time there's a scene with a gun going off; he seems to turn the volume up! Hold on, I'll go outside and call you back in a bit."

With that he killed the line, but Erasa still held on to the phone a bit longer. Something wasn't right here. Erasa had met all of Sharpener housemates at various meetings and get-togethers, and most of them were nice enough. They wouldn't be as anti-social as putting their TV's (TV is always caps) sound so high…

'_And better yet,_' Erasa realized, '_this isn't the first time there's been a lot of noise when I __call__ him._' It had happened a few times over the last few weeks, not often, but this was at least the fourth time that she had called Sharpener and he was in some area with a lot of noise.

'_He's hiding something from us.'_ Erasa realized, now beginning to pace her room, her mind trying to discover what. She wasn't a detective, not anything like Videl, but she was an expert gossip and you didn't get very far with gossiping if you couldn't pry a few secrets from someone.

'_Sharpener would only keep two things secret from us; something he finds is too__ personal__ to share with us, like the time he had run away from home, or things he thinks he has to hide to protect us._'

Well, it probably wasn't anything related to his family; after Sharpener had come clean to them and told them what had happened between his father and him Videl and Erasa had been his pillar of support. If anything, his relationship with his father seemed to be getting better ever since they had gotten back from Gohan's house. Why else would he keep wearing that jacket?

'_Unless… that jacket he got from his dad is somehow involved. Sharpener always tries to wear something that'll show his __arms; but since he got that jacket,__ he's always worn it. What am I missing here?_'

Well, this certainly left her with enough to do for a free Friday night. First off, she would have to think of a couple of questions to ask Sharpener when he called back. If she didn't play this right, he would completely block any option she has of finding out. And with Sharpener, that was easy; he was very sharp – Erasa had to giggle at the small pun – at reading other people.

XxX

The Doctor was gliding along his new underground laboratory, performing a seemingly unnecessary personal check-up. Styring had been true to his word; his people had moved the facility to a new location perfectly. Normally, the Doctor would have protested that his old lab's location was good enough, but Styring was financing everything and he had had sound reasoning for relocating.

Speaking of Styring, the blinking light at the console by his right hand told him he was receiving a call from his sponsor.

"A very fine evening to you, my good Doctor." Styring cheerfully greeted him. For some reason the man never seemed to be down. Never truly happy, energetic or cheerful; but never depressed or doubtful either. His seemingly neutral nature had become something the Doctor begrudgingly admired. Not many people could pull that off without making a mistake somewhere. Styring had only once let his mask slip, when they were meeting in person and he had told him of his future plans.

Future plans in which Styring would come to dominate the earth, mankind would be reduced to a shade of what it had been and the Doctor's androids would be the harbingers of doom… a future even the Doctor thought was bleak. He didn't want mankind destroyed - but he didn't care about their survival either – nor had he any dreams of becoming a powerful ruler. No, his reasoning was much simpler then that; he wanted to see just what his creations were capable of.

"Everything is proceeding as desired." The Doctor stated, always cautiously. Regardless of his supposed kindness, Styring was a hard man, as likely to give you a drink as order you strangled, with the same smile on his face. "The shipments have arrived and your… men… are preparing now. They're using the equipment you provided to get acquainted with their new physical capabilities as well as testing the weapons."

"Excellent. And what is the estimation Doctor? How long will it take for them to be ready for action?"

"As things stand now, the estimation is that it will take around a week for them to get acquainted with their physical abilities. Once that is under control, mastering the weapons should be a matter of hours." As always when the subject was presented, the Doctor didn't even try to hide the disgust in his voice. He was a very vocal supporter of ignoring the cybernetic enhanced humans and just using the androids.

"My good Doctor, why do you always sound so resentful? It is your own work and a grand accomplishment at that. Your research gives the key to evolving mankind to the next stage of our natural evolution. Please, do share your mind."

Another basic politeness. Styring had heard the arguments a thousand times, but he would not yield.

"I still say it is a waste of time to create these Soldiers, when you can have a number of androids for the same cost. They are more powerful, more obedient and more effective then humans would ever be. Ignore them, they are not 'the next stage of evolution,' Styring, the Cyborgs , they are a bad middle-ground between normal humans and real androids. It is fated to failure."

"So you keep saying, Doctor, but you refuse to give me examples of why you think so." Styring still sounded pleasant, though he must have been as annoyed by the subject as the doctor himself. It came up in every conversation between the two of them.

"And while I certainly appreciate the work you have provided for me – with your research and the discoveries you have shared with me I can increase my profit by nearly thirty percent in the next four years – I will say once again that it has always been a vital point that a human element is needed on any battleground. There is no denying that your androids are efficient, that is a simple fact. However, they are still mere artificial intelligence, lacking the ability to adapt that identifies humans. They cannot improvise or make a moral judgment. Every AI created will always reach the same outcome when faced with a problem, but human will always reach different outcomes."

"As you always seem to say," The Doctor interrupted, frustration breaking through. He had always lived a secluded life because he didn't care about interaction with other human beings, he didn't care about anything human. Why would he, when his androids represented the perfect that humans could never achieve? "Yet, if you wish to maintain the 'human element', as you always call it, why did you have such significant changes made to your champions of choice? Half their thoughts run like a computer now."

"Yes, my new generation of Soldiers thinks with the speed of a computer, very much thanks to you, but they still retain human thought patterns. And _that_ is critical above all else. Imagine Doctor, if you could have a human mind in a cybernetic body. It would be… perfection."

"No." The Doctor painfully swallowed as a memory resurfaced. "No, it would not be perfection. It would be an abomination, neither android nor human. It would be the worst of both. A powerful creation without equal that would not follow logic, that would act on it's desires. It is the worst possible creation."

With that the Doctor cut the communication channel, his mind going back to his earlier experiments. The experiments before Styring had come along, the experiments from nearly ten years ago. The pinnacle of the Series 2 androids.

The two traitors. Two traitors and one abomination.

A massive failure.

And Styring wished to ultimately create more like them. The Doctor nearly shuddered at the thought.

XxX

It was almost as dark inside the room as it was outside. Hercule had become absorbed in his work, going over all the financial actions of the Satan Sports Foundation. He didn't bother with most of the details, he was simply the face of the organization, but he did make a point of going over what exactly they were using his name for. It kept him informed and often enough he had been able to make suggestions for other donations to perform.

Closing the report he had finished reading, Hercule stood up and stretched out. Only now did he notice just how dark the room was, with only a small desk lamp burning. Deciding on a small drink before sleep, Hercule poured himself a glass of scotch and moved over to the window while he drank. The window in his study, placed at the penthouse of his mansion, gave a spectacular view of the city that bore his name.

As always, the sight of the nearly rebuilt city was both soothing and disturbing. A small group had caused all the destruction. Sixteen… people, for lack of a better word, had fought and almost a quarter of the city had been ruined. He didn't want to think what would have happened had they started their battle in the center of the city, instead of the outskirts…

Then again, the resilience which was often stated as mankind's second-greatest definition – determination being the first – was shown as well. Three and a half month after Armageddon, the city was almost completely rebuilt. That was truly an inspiring notion, in Hercule's opinion.

As he took another sip of his drink, he noticed some movement at the front gate. Videl was standing just outside the gate, obviously finishing up on whatever it had been she was doing tonight. She had told him that she was going out into town with Erasa, Sharpener and Gohan, but there were only two people standing at the gate.

The sight of his daughter made the champ think as well. Ever since she had gotten back from her two month stay-over at Gohan's house, she had seemed… different. She still behaved mostly the same, but she smiled a bit more and, at times, even showed doubt when she thought no-one was looking.

"Well, I know why _that_ is." Hercule chuckled to himself as he took another sip. From where he was standing, he thought he saw Videl give a careful look to his office. With the lights dimmed as they were, he was invisible to anyone on the outside. And, as often happened, Hercule was always prone to talking to himself when alone. Sometimes, it seemed he was the only person to still talk somewhat normal to himself.

And yes, he did know that talking to himself was the first sign of madness, thank you very much. There was a reason he only did it when he was _alone_.

"She's still too green." Hercule again chuckled. "Thinking she can keep things like that from me. Did she forget I followed entire courses on reading body language and non-verbal communications? She's my daughter; I can read her like an open book. She's just hoping I haven't noticed she likes that Gohan kid."

Becoming a superstar was, relatively speaking, easy. Staying a superstar, however, that required serious work, even when you were the savior of the world. Hercule had been advised to follow several courses to ensure he could remain the public's favorite and it had worked out.

Ever since coming back she had been much more cheerful, ever since a party he had invited her too, she had seemed… occupied with something. Hercule wasn't sure he wanted to know, regardless of what he thought; his daughter was still a teenager. But she had said she was going out with all three of her friends, but she was only being brought home by one…

"Heck, she's probably dating him or something and hopes I won't find out." He concluded as the two figures down below came together. It might be a goodbye hug, or a deep kiss; it would look all the same from this distance.

Still silently observing from a distance, he thought about what he knew of Gohan. He seemed like a nice enough kid, friendly and certainly intelligent enough. From the pictures he had seen from their two month stay, the boy also had a very developed body. Hercule had been impressed with his muscles when he first saw them, a rare example of well-toned, but not bulky. And he had taught Sharpener about fighting! Sharpener had developed into one of the most promising boxing talents of the last three decades, but according to what the group of teenagers had said, Gohan had wiped the floor with him. Repeatedly.

Now, Hercule was no fool, despite how he might sometimes act in public. He knew his rule of 'no dating unless they're stronger then me' was honestly stupid. Strength was no measure of character or ability – or at least, not the only one – and Videl was plenty strong to defend herself, but over the years that rule had served another purpose. It had scared of the vultures that would have tried to date 'The Daughter of Hercule' rather then Videl.

That didn't appear to be the case with Gohan, Hercule had already observed. Sure, the boy had been nervous when they met face-to-face, but he hadn't tried to suck up or otherwise impress the older warrior and throughout everything had been a good and loyal friend to Videl. Perhaps most importantly, to Hercule at least, Gohan was highly respectful to everyone he met. Especially woman. And even more especially, Videl.

"Well, if they want to keep dating without telling me, that's fine with me." Hercule concluded. "If they're keeping it from me, that means they're keeping it from almost everyone else as well. Maybe now Videl can be a normal girl, instead of a celebrity. Even if it is only for a while."

Hercule took a last look down, seeing Videl now moving towards the mansion, while Gohan was still standing outside the gate, watching and waiting, to which Hercule could only nod. The boy really was a gentleman, then. Raising his glass, Hercule gave a small toast before draining his glass.

"To teenagers, being teenagers."

XxX

Videl was in awe as se pushed herself off of the glass roof of Capsule Corporation's inner garden. The same inner garden where she and Gohan had met in a drunken haze. She was here with her boyfriend, but today they were doing much more… decent things. This was the third lesson Videl had received on Energy from Gohan and she could now float high enough to touch the ceiling of the inner Garden. And to think; two weeks ago, she hadn't even known about the existence of energy, barely even entertained the thought of flying herself. Now, the young couple had been forced to move their training away from the park, because Videl would be spotted floating above the trees.

"Ok Videl, that's great!" Gohan called from somewhere below her. "Now, try to move around a bit and fly towards that large oak."

Still though, floating was one thing. Flying was something completely different. Videl tried to move herself around to face the direction he had indicated. Yet when she tried to move herself forward, she could only move in shocks, going forward maybe half a meter at a time and dropping height with nearly every forward move. Raising herself high in the sky was a matter of simply pushing off with her energy, while flying required her to propel and stabilize herself in a certain direction, while maintaining that same push-off. All-in-all, it was much harder then Videl would have thought.

"Remember, don't get frustrated if it doesn't go well from the start." Gohan reminded her, hovering at her side. He just had to make it seem so effortless with every attempt, didn't he? "Think of this as learning how to walk again, like you had to learn when you were a toddler. It takes time, effort and falling down to reach it, but once you've got it down, you'll be doing it without a problem for the rest of your life."

An idea just came over Videl, an impulse she just had to act on. It would help her get rid of the frustration she was feeling towards her perfectly-flying boyfriend and shut him up in one go. Without warning, she created a ball of energy and threw it at him, hitting him dead-centre in the chest. The blast was actually strong enough to cover almost everything of Gohan in smoke! And better yet, Gohan had been nearly three meters away from her! Last week she had been unable to throw the ball more then an arm's length and it had been so weak it didn't even create any smoke when it exploded.

"Wow Videl, that's incredible." Gohan said when he appeared out of the smoke. Of course, not even his shirt was damaged from her surprise-attack! "Not only can you fly this high, your energy attacks have also become a lot more powerful. The progress you're making is nothing short of amazing!"

By now, Videl was floating just over the oak that Gohan had indicated, having dropped more then half the height of the glass roof on her way over. Appearing at her side, Gohan continued his talk. Despite being her boyfriend – and on more then one occasion kissing Videl senseless – Gohan kept a very teacher-student relationship in these lessons. Just as well, but sometimes Videl wanted… more.

"Ok, so what's next?" Videl asked, wiping some sweat of her brow.

"Well," Gohan started, "next we're going to be working on your maneuverability while flying. This is something you can really only perfect by practicing it a lot, but for now, I think I have an easy way. At least, for inside these lessons. Tag."

"Sorry, what?" Videl wiped herself around, looking straight at her boyfriend. "I didn't hear you."

"Tag," Gohan repeated. "It's a very basic game that's played all over the world, but it is vital in teaching children to run, move, turn and look around their environment while doing so. It's a good place to start with your flying. A game is often more effective then a boring training-routine."

"Ah, ok. Sure." Videl took a few seconds to catch her breath, a smirk already appearing on her face. She had yet another good idea to tease her boyfriend with.

"Now, basic rules; you get tagged, you're 'it'" Gohan went on, despite the fact that Videl already knew the rules. "You're not allowed to leave the garden and those are the rules. I'll stay at a speed that you can keep up with; otherwise the game wouldn't be very fair. Any questions?"

"Nope." Videl floated closer to Gohan, the smirk still on her face. Then, before Gohan could order the game's start, she grabbed her boyfriend's head and immediately brought her lips to his. This was no sweet, adorable kiss either. This was a passionate, heated, predatory kiss that lasted for as long as Videl could kiss Gohan before reaching for breath. Parting their lips, Videl looked at Gohan's face, which was still half-stunned and in bliss from the kiss.

"You're it!" Videl exclaimed before turning around and moving away as fast as she could. by the time Gohan had recovered his wits, she would be halfway across the garden.

* * *

Beta note; Yo, this is sweet, I get my own section now. This is Kushin eX and this chapter has been fully beta-fied by me. I might talk more in the future, but for now, see ya.

As always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	52. Chapter 52

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to DBZ, in any way.

* * *

The waitress who brought their drinks – an attractive girl who couldn't be older then twenty – bowed a little too low when setting the drinks on the table, giving both Sharpener and Gohan a peek of the inside of her shirt. Neither boy commented, playing by the rules – as Sharpener had called them – of both being taken, but they did enjoy the short show.

The waitress gave a wink and a smile before turning around and moving over to another table. While there, she made sure her backside was turned to their table as she bent forward a bit, again giving Gohan and Sharpener a free show.

"What'd you think?" Gohan asked Sharpener as he drank his soda. Sitting at Gohan's side, Sharpener was still a bit red from the morning's training. Gohan had been relentless lately, always pushing Sharpener that much further and today had been no different. Never mind that Sharpener was going on a 'date' with Erasa or that Gohan was meeting with Videl, training was training.

"I think I'll give her a solid seven-and-a-half out of ten." Sharpener answered after a second of consideration. "She's cute and all, but there's very little shaping around her hips and she isn't all _that_ well developed. Still, overall very nice."

"You're too picky, you know that?"

"And why are you even looking at all? As I remember, you're the one with a _real_ steady girlfriend." The emphasis on the word was not lost to Gohan, but he only gave a lopsided grin to Sharpener as he took another sip of his soda.

"And I seem to remember that a certain someone – who I won't name lest he suffer the wrath of several girls we know – told me of an excellent metaphor including cars. What was it again? Having a car didn't forbid you from looking at new models?"

"As long as you don't take them out for a test ride." Sharpener added, sharing Gohan's grin. Amazing how much his friend had changed, really, considering the short time in which it had happened. In less then three months time he had gone from completely obnoxious to pointing out the various girls and woman in the streets.

A comfortable silence settled in between the two as they continued to drink their soda. This was a small time of peace between events today. Even so, after a fashion, Gohan asked the question that was lying on his mind.

"So, are you nervous? It's almost time for the big day."

Sharpener finished his glass and answered, excitement sneaking into his voice.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I mean, in two weeks time I'll be going up against the national champ, a living legend and one of my idols in the boxing world. But I'm also really excited, I can't wait for it! I'll have a real chance to practice everything you taught me, see how I'll hold up against a living legend."

"Yeah, that will be exciting." Gohan agreed. "I can't wait to see how it'll go. You really are performing at peak capacity, but your opponent is one of the most experienced boxers in the world."

Gohan also finished his glass, but neither stood up yet, instead enjoying the moment of peace for as long as they could. Finally, though, they paid the bill, stood up from their chairs, pulled on their jackets – Sharpener's by now almost permanent leather jacket and Gohan wearing a comfortable black one – and left.

"Well, tell Erasa I said hi and enjoy yourselves today." Gohan told Sharpener as they gave each other a one-armed hug, slapping each other on the back at the same time

"Yeah, you give Vi my regards as well and don't exhaust her too much you know. I'll see you on Monday, later."

XxX

Despite it being a Saturday, Marron and Bra were on a trip with their kindergarten, going to the zoo. Some of the parents of other children had gotten together and planned this class-trip, much to the excitement of the children.

"Ooh, Marron, look over there!" Bra squealed as she dashed off towards the monkey cages. "They look so sweet!" Marron added as they both hung on the railing to see the apes from close up. The glass window in between them and the animal was the only thing stopping the two excited girls from jumping down to actually touch them.

The other children in their group – the class had been divided in groups of six children to every two adults, making the children far more manageable – followed them to the monkeys and mirrored their excitement. One after the other, the children fired questions at the two adults with them, far faster then they could answer, but neither Bra nor Marron really cared. They were too fascinated by the animals they were watching to listen to the stories.

Finally though, even the monkey got a bit boring. All it did was lay around lazily! That wasn't what a monkey was supposed to do! So, Bra, Marron and the other kids followed their adult guides out to the next cage, which held the gorillas. Again the girls and their classmates were completely absorbed in studying the large, furry animal, but… but the gorilla was even more boring then the monkeys had been! All it did was sit there and eat some twigs. Where was the impressive, powerful animal that stood on it's two legs and gave a loud shout as he drummed his chest?

Well, he still looked cool, even if he was lazy.

Three animal cages later, the group reached another section of the zoo; the savannah creatures. Immediately intricate animal sounds started to come towards the group; an elephant's trumpeting, a hyena's snickering and a lion's roar. In the distance, they could even see the elephant – it was so big! – and the giraffe's head was so high the girls were surprised they hadn't seen it from outside the park.

Still, though, there was one animal they wanted to see her before all others. The most graceful, powerful and royal of all animals; a lion. At another roar, the two girls led the way towards the source of the sound. They'd be seeing a real lion up close! Trunks and Goten were going to be so jealous!

Before they reached the lion's cage, however, the two girls bumped into someone else. The stranger towered above the two girls, not even flinching at the impact. He did look down through his hoodie as the two girls fell on the ground.

"Marron, Bra, are you two alright?" One of their adult guides asked as he came running up towards them. "Terribly sorry sir, they slipped away, you know how excited children can get in a zoo. Are you alright?"

The stranger didn't say anything, still looking down at the two young girls at his feet. Looking back up at him, the two girls realized that this man was really, really strange. His skin was so pale, it almost looked yellow.

"Bra Briefs and Marron Bongo?" The man asked. His voice sounded strange, a way of talking neither girl had ever heard before, like he was from another country. How had he known their names?

"Yes, sir." Both girls replied, manners taught by their mothers making them answer without thought. "That's us."

"Girls, do you know this man?" their guide asked. Before he got his answer though, the hooded man reached down and grabbed each girl with one hand.

"You will come with me." He announced, holding the girls up by their shirts. Shock and surprise registered on their guide's face, but before he could do more then lean forward the hooded man's leg shot out, swiping the feet out from under him. Before he could begin falling, the hooded man reappeared behind the guide and kicked him hard enough to make him fly over the wall above the lion's pit, smash into a rock hard enough to topple it and then crash into the lion's pit itself.

A lion's wild roar was the last thing the girls heard before their sudden captor disappeared from the zoo, taking them with him.

XxX

The setting sun outside, shining it's vibrant red rays through the window, combined with the plants and view of the garden would have made a perfect date. A perfect place for a young couple like Gohan and Videl to just lay down and enjoy each other's company, or maybe enjoy a picnic together, feeding each other ridiculously sweet and somehow romantic food while smiling at each other. Bulma had certainly used the inner garden to that effect many times in her life, with both Yamcha and Vegeta.

However, Gohan and Videl weren't interested in a romantic date right now. In fact, the only thing Videl wanted at that moment was to wipe that confident, knowing smirk off of her boyfriend's face. It was so infuriating! But he simply swatted her attack to the side before returning one of his own punches.

Blocking his attack, Videl raised herself higher, hoping to gain the advantage on Gohan, but he wouldn't let her off that easy. His next attack – a kick at mid-level – overpowered Videl's fragile balance in the air and send her flying back a ways before she could stabilize. Immediately Gohan stopped his assault, waiting for Videl to return.

"Ok, that was much, much better then before Videl." He praised, that contagious smile appearing on his lips. Normally Videl would have smiled with him, but now she was still in a battle fury. "We spent nearly five minutes sparring before I overpowered your balance. That's really great. How about we take five for now then do another two rounds of sparring before calling it a day?"

"Sounds great," Videl's breath was very heavy from exhaustion. She was so much faster and stronger then before, the mere discovery of energy had been enough to enhance her to unknown levels of ability, but it also showed new weaknesses. As Videl landed on the grass and laid down, intending to recover as much as possible before the next sparring match, Gohan sat down besides her.

He wasn't covered in sweat, like she was, and he wasn't even breathing hard. Damn him! Still though, she was impressed by how much he had already taught her, despite the short time she had studied under him. Once she had managed to get in touch with her energy, she quickly learned to form energy balls and those were quickly growing stronger. Already she could make her energy attacks crack stone and pierce metal. But there was more; her sudden increase in speed and strength meant she had difficulty controlling her own body, making it seem to move too fast for her to keep up, too strong to control.

Flying itself, no matter how wonderful it was, also presented it's own difficulties; Videl had been used to locking down her hips when fighting, putting force from her entire body, toes to fist, behind her punches. Blocking had required her to be flexible in her knees, making herself act like a spring to absorb the damage. Those things were impossible when she was in the air. At first, throwing a punch had thrown her so far off balance that she made a frontal flip before stopping herself. Blocking had sent her flying until she crashed into a wall.

All those problems, however, Gohan had told her could be solved by practice, experience and time. So he had told her what to do to stabilize herself in the air, made her practice it for hours in the past week until she could finally do it. He had her guide energy into her fist to strengthen it, push energy out of her feet to stabilize herself as she fought in the air and much more. Maneuvering in three dimensions was much, MUCH harder then Gohan had made it seem.

Practice had only gotten her so far. Now, Videl had to get used to the movements of her own body and how she would react in an actual fight. Hence her sparring with Gohan. Of course, after their training session was over, they'd spend the rest of the evening together as well, eating dinner and otherwise just spending it together.

But for now, Videl was determined to wipe that smirk off of Gohan's face. Hopping back to her feet, Videl gave the signal for the next round and both teens immediately shot up to the glass ceiling, ready for the next round. As soon as they got there, Videl formed two orbs of energy and threw them at Gohan, hoping to create an opening. It wouldn't be that simple, not with Gohan. Nothing was ever simple with him.

But she loved that. She loved how her boyfriend made everything a challenge to her and she wouldn't have it any other way.

XxX

"How about we take a break for now and go get some dinner? My treat," Sharpener asked Erasa as they exited yet another shop. They had been shopping the entire afternoon and as far as Erasa was concerned she could keep going until three hours after closing time.

"Yeah, good idea, I'm kinda hungry." Erasa was walking at Sharpener's side, the two of them holding each other's hand and making goo-goo eyes every few minutes at each other. They had to think about making the eyes, but that was required to keep up the illusion that this was a date.

The entire school still believed Sharpener and Erasa to be the hottest couple in the school, so in love that it was sickening to most guys and made most girls sigh at the romance. Keeping that reputation up required some serious effort, even outside of the school. Already they had run into five groups of classmates – two other couples on a date and three groups of friends hanging out – and that had made them decide to keep the act on all the time. It also made the date much more fun for the two.

Since they were shopping for new clothing for Sharpener today, the act had led to several rather comical situations as Erasa joked around by also trying on the clothes they were going to buy for Sharpener. She had even, at one point, put on an entire suit – pimp style, complete with wide-brimmed hat – before an employee kindly told her the outfit was men's style, though there were various suits in the woman's department as well.

Both blondes had burst out laughing at the woman's reaction, though they had been kind enough to explain that Erasa was only joking around. The employee could understand the joke and laughed as well, before the two paid for the new clothes and left the shop. Of course, Erasa had another motive today as well; finding out just what Sharpener had been up to lately.

At first, she had tried to make him slip up by asking him questions about his activities at night, but of course that didn't work; Sharpener had his story very well sorted out. He even knew a name of a war movie – given with just enough doubt at the title to make her think he hadn't memorized it– when she asked what his roommate had been watching the other night.

After that she had shifted on to asking about the jacket, but Sharpener's response had been simple.

"It's a gift from my old man." He had said with a shrug. "I can't stand the guy, but he's still my dad and this is a really nice jacket. That and with it's weight it's also a bit of an exercise to wear it, so I don't see a reason not to wear it. Of course, once it gets hot I'll leave the thing hanging in my closet, but right now it's a nice alternative to a new coat."

So, he had even prepared his answer to that. Of course, Sharpener was nothing if not thorough; always making sure his lies matched up and believable. All in all, Erasa was getting frustrated by her lack of success in obtaining the other blonde's secrets. It wouldn't ever be that simple – she had known that when she started – but it would have been nice to make some progress.

"The steakhouse?" Sharpener asked as they walked towards the exit of the mall.

'_Maybe he'll crack over dinner._' Erasa though. '_And I could really go for a steak as well. I'm hungry._' "Sounds good," She said, smiling at her fake boyfriend.

However, when they exited the mall, they were suddenly crowded by a group of very large people who were all wearing black. They had suddenly and immediately closed in around them, forming an intimidating circle around the two teenagers. Five of them in total, each covering his face with a ski-mask. Immediately Sharpener dropped his bag and stood in front of Erasa, shielding her with one arm, but the sudden ambushers didn't do anything, simply standing there looking menacing.

One of the five stepped aside, letting a sixth person step into their circle. This man was unmasked and wearing different clothes from the rest. Seeing him, Erasa let out a gasp, terror immediately gripping her and paralyzing her. Sharpener also stiffened up, seeing who it was, but couldn't do more than grind his teeth.

"Hey kid, I'll give you an option; surrender now, come with us and no-one is gonna get hurt. Don't and we'll have to get rough with you, your girlfriend and a lot of people around here. That'll be long, painful and generally unpleasant for everyone not on our team. What're ya gonna do?"

Sharpener glanced around, but Erasa knew that it was impossible for him to defeat so many opponents. Even Videl might not have succeeded in it and she was trained to fight multiple opponents at once. Finally, Sharpener's shoulders slouched in defeat, but he gave a jerk to his jacket before answering.

"Fine. I'll surrender."

XxX

It was already dark outside and the TV was on, but neither Gohan nor Videl paid much heed to either. After their training had been finished, they had taken a shower before eating a private dinner at one of the many dining rooms that the Capsule Corporation's main building had. Eating there was not only completely for free for Gohan, but the food was first-class and no-one would look strangely at the amounts of food that Gohan would devour.

By now Videl didn't even really seem surprised anymore by how much he ate. If anything, she would be surprised that he still tasted everything he inhaled and how he somehow still retained his table manners. She was beginning to think that his insane food demands were part of his usage of energy though; since learning how to use Energy, Videl had started eating much more as well, though she hadn't gained any weight at all.

But dinner was long gone now and like the movie playing in the background, neither teen was giving it any thought. They had long since lost each other in their more then passionate embraces and kisses, tongues having a dominating battle inside their mouths, hands roaming over each other's bodies. Videl was even grinding her hips against Gohan's in her passion, though neither objected to the feeling.

Gohan's hand had, with some persuasion by Videl, found it's way underneath her shirt and both teens were now on almost completely oblivious to the world around them, lost in their passion and lust for each other.

Until, suddenly, the screen on the TV switched to something else entirely. Neither noticed it at first, until a completely new voice started sounding from the device, it's familiarity jerking the two teens away from their realm of fantasy and working like a bucket of ice cold water to bring them back to the real world.

"Testing, testing. Yeah, ok, we're on."

The screen showed a familiar face, though much changed from the last time they saw him. His hair, which had been kept in a short cut last time, was now ruffled and almost long enough to reach his shoulders, making him appear like a madman out of control. A stark contrast to the in-control military officer from last time. The right side of his face, particularly the area around his eye, had the skin replaced by pieces of metal. His eye itself wasn't there anymore, instead replaced by a… mechanical thing.

It looked similar to the optical sensors that the androids had when their heads had been torn apart. Finally, the man spoke up again and his overconfident, infuriating smirk spread on his face, just as it had done so often last time Videl had seen him...

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. My name is Mick Johnson and as of right now I'm the biggest nightmare this shithole of a country has ever seen."

* * *

Beta Note: Yo, Kushin eX here authenticating this beta-ing. Hope you enjoy this chappy, because shit has officially hit the fan.

Also to the person who reviewed congratulating both of us on a great story, I didn't write any of this fic. I discuss plot points, help with names and check grammar. That's it. Hope I've cleared up any misunderstanding.

And as always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	53. Chapter 53

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dragonball Universe or anything even closely related to it. just borrowing it all for some fun.

* * *

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. My name is Mick Johnson and as of right now I'm the biggest nightmare this shithole of a country has ever seen."

While watching the screen, Videl nearly lost it then and there. Johnson? He was supposed to be dead! He died in that prison fire months ago, didn't he?

"Now, for those of you who may not know of me, allow me to further introduce myself." Johnson continued, his almost permanently present smirk still showing itself, just like it did all those months ago. "I was the one who took over Orange Star High a while back, then proceeded to beat the living daylights out of your national treasure Videl Satan, play around with the entire police force as long as I wanted and finally had a big, impressive fight with my old boss, who kicked my ass to hell and back. That should about cover the last time I was on the news."

Well, it did, except Videl wouldn't have called it 'beating the living daylights out of her'. Johnson had pulled a cowardly trick, letting his subordinate fight a one-on-one then when she stood up; he struck her before she could recover from the fight. In hindsight, the attack should have been obvious, but she had only been out for a few seconds…

'_Who am I kidding?_'

"Now, after that little adventure, I was placed in a maximum security prison where everyone thought I died when the whole place went BOOM! Too bad folks! I didn't. I fooled all of you." At this point Johnson broke down into laughter that sounded close to madness, but somehow it fit him. Before he had always seemed perfectly in control; an exemplary soldier. Now, with his hair longer and unkempt and a strange gleam to his remaining eye he looked more a madman than a soldier. Some of his now longer hair fell in front of what should have been a missing eye. Instead, a red, mechanical eye was placed in it's socket, glowing and really perfecting the madman image.

"But let's get on to business shall we? I'm not here just to announce my existence to the world; I'm here to inform a couple of special people that I'm having some very special guests. Here, lemme show you all."

Johnson took a step backward and to the side, revealing the scene behind him. Videl let out a gasp, anger and fear overcoming her in equal measure. At her side, Gohan visibly tensed up, immediately breathing hard and giving a glare of death at the TV. Behind Johnson, Sharpener, Erasa, Marron and Bra all stood together, hands bound together by iron chains, attached to the ground. The two girls were apparently unconscious, Erasa was kneeling next to them, looking close to tears, but Sharpener stood tall and looked directly at the camera.

"Go on kid; tell them a little about yourself, for those who don't recognize your pretty face." Johnson said as he entered the screen again, standing next to Sharpener.

"My name's Sharpener, they caught me and Erasa at approximately nineteen-thirty-five, just as we were leaving the shopping mall to get some dinner. These two little girls with us are Marron and Bra; they were also kidnapped sometime this afternoon. They've been given a drug to make them sleep. With some luck, they'll never remember any of this."

"Couldn't have put it better myself kid." Johnson said, stepping in front of the camera again. "Now, as I'm sure everyone understands I didn't capture these cute kids for their pleasant company or sweet snores. Here's what I want; Videl Satan and the Commander, both of you better get searching and start finding where I am, 'cause I can't wait to see you two again. I want those two to come find me so I can kill them. If anyone else even gets close to where I am, I kill the hostages. Based on my record, I think you'll find I'm more than capable of doing that."

'_Of course he is._' Videl nearly spat, thinking back to that one brave young policeman who had stood up to Johnson and got shot in the head for it. '_If you want me, I'll come see you. But where the hell are you?_'

"If you're not here in, let's say… three hours? Yeah, three hours sounds good. If you're not here in three hours, I start killing these hostages. One for every fifteen minutes you're late. And if neither of you has appeared yet… there are more people I can get close to, without anyone ever knowing of it. Good luck finding me, after all… the chase is half the fun, right?. See you in a few hours then. After all… you wouldn't want my guests to become uncomfortable, do you?"

XxX

Bulma was completely stunned as she and the officer helping her saw the sudden broadcast. It was on every one of the TV's in the police station where Bulma had spent most of her afternoon. She had been called within minutes of the sudden kidnapping of Bra and Marron and she had, in turn, notified Vegeta, Krillin and #18. Since Trunks had been training with Vegeta at the time of her call, he too had been notified and he was even more angered than his father.

Already the four super warriors were searching for the kids around the world, but neither of them had a high enough energy signal to pick up from a distance. If it had been either Goten or Trunks that had been abducted, they would have been found within seconds. But neither Bra nor Marron had ever received any kind of training and neither was any stronger then an average girl their age.

Before now, Vegeta had never even made a suggestion of training his daughter, but as he had flown off to search for her, he had vowed to Bulma that after she was back safe and sound he would start training her until 'None of these pathetic excuses of life forms called humans or anything else of this mud ball of a stinking backwater third rank planet would ever be able to even consider touching her'. It was rare that Vegeta sank that deep into a cursing rant, unless he was really worried.

But while her husband and close friends searched across the globe, all Bulma could do was report to a police station and order them to start searching as well, while hiding from the press massed outside.

As the screen switched back to normal, everyone at the police station seemed to remain frozen for several seconds, trying to take it what had happened. Bulma was one of the first to recover from the shock, pulling out her phone.

Vegeta, Trunks, Krillin and #18 needed to hear about this, now!

XxX

Videl had to break into a half jog to keep up with Gohan as he stepped quickly and surely through the halls of Capsule Corporation. Almost as soon as the TV had returned to a normal screen, Gohan had shot up form the couch, paced two rounds through the room and then made left to go here. Videl had followed after him; wanting to know what Gohan was doing, but barely able to keep up.

'_Hang his long legs! I'm almost running and he still looks like he's just walking._' But now wasn't the time to get annoyed at the difference in their body size. Gohan still had a look of pure murder on his face and he was speaking on the phone as he moved.

"Tom, it's me." He didn't sound like normal either; his voice was hard and cold as steel, completely unlike normal. This was a voice of command, one you didn't interrupt or ignore. "I saw, I'm already on my way over to the communications department. I'll direct the search myself, set up a workstation with five computers and give me access to the screen wall. I'll be there in roughly one minute."

Without waiting for a reply, Gohan cut off the call and put the phone back in his pocket, then simply continued walking. Videl moved at his side, trying to keep up, but she didn't speak. She was already trying to think of possible locations where Johnson had taken them. The background had obviously been a factory, but there were no other hints.

'_How the hell am I supposed to find him before he starts killing them? Damn, I haven't even come face to face with him, but he's already making me completely helpless!_'

She dropped out of her thoughts as Gohan let her into a large room, making her gasp. The room was absolutely huge, the ceiling at least three times as high as that of a normal room, and it was filled to the brim with computers. On one wall there were screens lined up from top to bottom, covering every inch of it. It must have been over two hundred screens, all linked together.

As soon as Gohan entered, everyone in the room stood up, gave a quick greeting and then returned to their work. Three people, each holding a digital notepad, moved closer, giving their reports.

"Sir, we're already working on trying to find the origin of the signal, but it's been scrambled. According to our initial findings, it's coming from five different locations at once, but was streamed real-time. We're running a secondary tracking system alongside a reversed decoding unit to locate the original source, but it will take some time. Tom is overseeing it himself, he's confident that he can find the source of the origin within two hours." The first of the three said, getting into pace at Gohan's side.

"We're running a background check on everyone involved as well." The second, an older-looking, motherly woman added. "There is little connection between the four victims, but we're looking for anything to give us a motive behind what's going on. It may also provide us an insight into possible hiding places for Johnson, we're running through old safehouses and contacts to see what we can find."

"A check of the video's background has already been started, we've got fifteen men working on it now sir." The third member, a bespectacled, serious-looking middle-aged man added as well. "We've confirmed that the image behind them is genuine and not a fabricated image. It's already been identified as an abandoned factory or power plant, build more then fifteen years ago and abandoned for at least two years, still working on further detail."

"Excellent." Gohan nodded at their reports then sat down in a station that had been prepared for him. Five computers sat on a round table, placed in a half-circle, allowing Gohan a view of the screen wall as well. As he sat down, the three who had come running took places at computers placed just behind him.

"Bring up a national map in the upper-left corner of the wall." Gohan commanded. Three taps of the motherly-looking woman later a large picture of the nation appeared on the wall, taking up almost a quarter of the screen. "Point out all abandoned hardware facilities of the last two-hundred years." Immediately red dots started appearing all over the map, many clustered together.

"Good. Remove all those who have been confirmed to have no remaining structures. And now those in populated areas."

At the first command almost two-thirds of the dots disappeared, at the second half of those disappeared again. That still left over fifty different places, spread across the country in a random pattern.

"There's no way I'll be able to check them all out within three hours!" Videl gasped as she looked at the screen.

"You won't have too." Gohan curtly replied, already at work on all five computers. "Uploading the message on the right half side of the wall, use the lower left side to freeze important images."

Over a dozen faces stopped their work to look at the screen, Gohan amongst them. Videl could only stand there and be amazed at what is going on. This wasn't like the Gohan she knew at all. That Gohan was always kindly asking things, never even assuming anything. This Gohan gave commands and orders and didn't check if they were obeyed; there was no chance anyone would disobey that tone of voice.

'_Well, he is a department leader after all. He must have been taught how to take command in difficult situations._' Videl mused as she looked at her boyfriend, so focused at work.

Up on the wall, dozens of the screens already held frozen aspects of the image, people staring at them and analyzing every bit of it.

"Keep analyzing the background of the video, look for anything that can give you a clue." Gohan ordered. "Videl!"

At the mention of her name, Videl shot out of her thoughts and back into the real world. of course, she had to get ready as well! Gohan and this entire department were working on finding the location, but she was required to go in there!

"When you go out there, be careful." He warned, "You'll be facing more then just Johnson. It looks like he has thirteen CCDD agents with him."

"What? How'd you know that?"

Still working behind all five computers, switching between them so rapidly that it almost seemed like the computers themselves couldn't keep up with his working speed, Gohan pointed at some of the frozen screens. They held a picture of Sharpener, hands still bound, but with some fingers extended.

"Sharpener gave us a warning." Gohan explained. "When he was talking, he flashed his fingers in a three-three-four-four pattern. That corresponds with the letters CCDD, so Johnson brought some more of his friends from the Capsule Corporation's Defensive Department with him. When he's telling us the time, Sharpener is suddenly taking in numbers, while we both know Sharpener doesn't normally talk like that. At the same time, his fingers flash a five-five-three pattern, which adds up to thirteen. He managed to send us a message."

'_Wha?_' Videl hadn't even noticed anything about Sharpener other then that he had been chained! '_Nice one Sharpener, you're always keeping your cool, no matter what!_'

"Gohan, I'll go get ready." Videl finally said, realizing she was of no help here. Videl enjoyed being a detective, but this was far beyond her. "Let me know what else you find."

XxX

It was a rare time for Parer Pencil to be sitting at home, instead of working late hours at his office again. It had taken him much hard work and more sacrifices then he cared to admit to reach his position as executive director of STV, the biggest television and radio channel in the nation, but he was no super talent at the art of management. Keeping his position often required him to start early and work long hours.

But now that he had a rare day off, enjoying the chance to relax and enjoy a pleasant meal with his wife, pure and utter pandemonium had come crashing down on him. Already he had received phone calls from his office, informing him that the video that had just been aired had strong-armed every known signal out of the air for it's few short minutes of broadcasting.

That, however, was the least of his concerns. That bastard of a Johnson had kidnapped Sharpener! Again! The last time, he had been held as a hostage at first then taken with the green-haired man when he had tried to flee. This time, Parer's son had been specifically chosen.

Parer and his wife had seen the message together, though Kyna had nearly passed out near the end. She had always been somewhat fragile after she had recovered from her disease all those years ago and, while she didn't let it show, she suffered from the strained relationship her husband and son kept. Parer didn't blame her.

'_If this doesn't make my remaining hairs gray, I don't know what will._'

Three times in a year, Sharpener had been in life-threatening situations. It was enough to make anyone nervous. But, like he had always shown, their boy stayed in control of himself. Only rarely did Sharpener ever loose control off himself. It was a trait inherited from his father, though he was as passionate about most things as Kyna ever was.

'_I have to do something._' Parer finally decided. Even if he and his son weren't exactly on friendly terms – to put it kindly, he had also inherited that stubbornness from Parer – Parer still loved his son. Picking up his phone, he dialed the number. '_But I can't do anything, not in this situation. I have no other choice. I have to save Sharpener and Erasa and those two kids. And more likely then not Videl will get hurt if she goes there. I can do something to save them._'

Finally the call was answered.

"Capsule Corporation, how may I help you?"

XxX

Fifteen minutes after she had left, Videl returned to the Communications Department, where Gohan and the others were still hard at work. She had changed her clothes, now donning her hair in pigtails again, her trademark white shirt and hot pants and her new sneakers and gloves. Those shoes and gloves had been specifically designed to aid her in battle.

Gohan had given Videl her first set of true battle gloves, but those had been broken when she took down Android #1, so Videl had bought a replacement. These were actually a great improvement over the older gloves. Instead of a single piece of iron over the knuckles, these new gloves were reinforced with a metal skeleton, a perfect imitation of her hand, to allow full mobility but still provide extra power when hitting. Something similar had been done for her shoes, strengthening her kicks as well.

The cost for having the gloves and shoes custom-made wasn't something an ordinary fighter would have been able to afford, but Videl had gladly paid the price. The battle gloves had proved critical to her victory on two occasions already, so Videl wasn't about to give up on them just yet!

Glancing at the map, Videl saw many of the red dots vanish before the map itself was reduced to a smaller area in what looked like the center of the nation. Videl didn't keep track of the time as she watched the department work, shutting down one of the red dots after another, then narrowing down the map again. Finally, only half a dozen dots were left.

"Ah good, you're back." Gohan's voice rang through the room. Looking around, Videl saw Gohan stand as he waved her over. "We've managed to narrow down the possibilities to seven different facilities, all located in the center of the nation, located within a three-mile radius of each other. Several of the facilities are broadcasting signals, but we're trying to locate the correct one. I think you'd better get on your way, I'll give you the coordinates."

"You're not coming?" Videl asked, suddenly feeling like her iron-enforced shoes weighed a ton each. If Gohan was there… nothing would be able to stop him, nothing on the planet could even hurt him!

"I'll stay here for a bit longer, narrowing the signal down until I've got their location. When I find it, I'll send in the cavalry. Good luck Videl. Stay safe."

Videl gave a nod, feeling a bit better already. So Gohan was coming; but he couldn't just yell to these people that he was Saiyaman and nearly invincible. It did make her feel a bit better.

'_Come on Videl, shape up!_' she scolded herself. '_Since when do you rely on anyone else to do your fighting? You've rushed into enemy gunfire plenty of times before._'

Videl made her way over to the roof, her jetcopter capsule already in her hand. The distance to the facilities Gohan had pointed out was much too far for Videl to fly and still remain in any kind of fighting condition. Besides, he'd work with coordinates and the jetcopter had a built in GPS system.

Still though, as she stepped into her trusty flying machine, she felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Yes, she had run into enemy gunfire before but, as the Commander had once told her, all her previous enemies had been idiots who didn't know one end of a gun from the other. These were trained soldiers, each of them, shooting to kill.

As she lifted off, Videl knew she was flying straight towards a trap. But she had a feeling the trap was much, much deeper then anything she would anticipate.

XxX

Krillin was floating somewhere above a couple of islands to the south of East City, trying to detect a familiar energy pattern, when his phone started ringing. Even at an altitude of several hundreds of kilometers above the earth, Krillin didn't feel a bit of cold or wind, thanks to the orb of energy he had created around himself. It was a trick every flyer sooner or later worked out, because if you didn't create the orb around you, your lips would crack after mere minutes of flying, you'd get blinded by the biting winds or much worse.

At the moment, however, it simply allowed Krillin to answer his phone with little more disturbance than when he would have answered it in his house.

"Krillin, it's me." Gohan's voice was as cold as ice on the phone. Immediately all kinds of mental alerts started going off inside Krillin's head, but he didn't react. He had expected Gohan would react like this. To almost everyone else, two groups of two had been abducted. To Gohan it was his two best friends and his two adopted little sisters. It couldn't have been more designed to strike straight at his heart. "I just got a special tip that allowed me to locate the exact area where everyone's held as a hostage. However, I need you to listen before you rush in."

"What's going on?" Krillin asked, already lowering his altitude as he spoke.

"Johnson is very good at what he does, Krillin, and he'll have everything prepared to the smallest detail. Whoever is supporting him, they've got some serious business to keep their hideout this secret. I'm betting they have all kinds of advanced equipment to locate anyone going near them, so you guys can't rush in just yet."

"You think they've got equipment fast enough to track us if we decide to move in?" Krillin asked, worried. Vegeta could move faster than the speed of light if need be and Krillin was almost on that same level of speed, so if they could react faster than that…

"I'm not sure, but I don't want to take the risk either. Do you?" Gohan returned, and Krillin realized he was right. If the system was automated, it would react at light-speed, making even their rescue a murder. Krillin didn't want to risk his daughter's life on that.

"You're right, so what do we do?"

"I've got a plan, but I'll need all of you to cooperate with me. Get the others and hurry to the location I'm about to send you. We've only got thirty minutes left before we reach the deadline."

XxX

"I can't believe entire plains exist without anything built on them!" Videl was deeply surprised as she flew around in her Jetcopter. For a while now, she had been out of civilization areas and over nothing but barren, empty plains. And now she was really starting to sound like some city girl, who'd never been outside of her home yet.

"These places weren't fertile enough to build new cities." Gohan answered through the radio. "So, instead, they used most of them for either farming or factory placement. That is exactly why it'd make such a good hideout."

"No kidding, you can do whatever you want out here, no-one is ever going to notice it."

"Now, Videl, you have to be careful when you enter the area." Gohan cautioned her once again. "We found their location, but we still can't detect anything about their defenses, other then that they somehow prevent our scans from working. Once you're inside, try to find the device that is allowing them to detect anyone outside approaching. Cutting the power to the machine will probably work. If you do that, we can bring in as many forces as we want, turning the tide in our favor."

"Ok, so I gotta look for either the power station of the area or the device itself. Got it."

"Also, be careful when fighting. You're stronger then you were before, but you will be outnumbered and they will all have guns. And from what we saw of Johnson in the video, it's possible some of the agents had some kind of cybernetic upgrade. If this is true, they will be stronger and tougher than an ordinary human. Approach them with extreme caution."

"Yeah, I was already planning on that." Videl remarked, sounding annoyed. "Since they got guns and they know how to use them and all!"

The remark may have been a bit too bitchy to be allowed, but Videl was under a lot of stress here. Her best friends were threatened, she was knowingly walking into a trap and she had no knowledge of just how strong her enemies were.

"Just one more thing," Gohan completely ignored the remark, instead continuing to state his list of facts. "Our databanks indicate that the factory where Johnson is hiding is owned by Styring Behersk, through several front companies and other steps to hide the fact. It's been abandoned for years, but recently it's energy output has been increased. Whatever's going on in there, this has been planned for a few months now."

'_Behersk. Oh great, let's add that asshole into the mix as well._' Videl thought. She had always kept a policy of avoiding crime bosses if she could help it, but Styring Behersk was a special case even amongst them. The leader of one of the greatest crime syndicates in the world as well as one of the largest legal corporations, Styring was a slime ball that always got under Videl's skin in ways very few people could.

"Remember, take out the sensors as quickly as you can. I'll see you soon." Gohan closed the communications channel as Videl approached the factory in question, leaving Videl alone to her thoughts.

Or, at least, she would have been if the radio didn't resume communications again a few seconds later.

"Welcome miss Satan, I'm pleased to see you could find us in time. I would so hate to kill your pretty blond friend; she has a much better future ahead of her then a bullet between her eyes." It was Johnson's voice again, welcoming her in person. "Now, if you'll please be so kind as to land near the factory you're approaching, I'll send some of my associates out to greet you. Don't worry; they won't attack, they're just your escort. Wouldn't want you getting lost so close to the finish line would we?"

"Great, thanks." Videl's voice was filled with sarcasm, but Johnson only chuckled.

"Oh, you should be grateful. These old metal-working factories can be quite a maze if you don't know your way through. And the timer won't stop ticking until you are standing right before me, so you'd better hurry up. Only fifteen minutes left."

"I get it, I get it. I'm landing now."

As she landed Videl could see two armed figures appear from the factory's main entrance, though neither had their face obscured by masks this time. One was an absolutely massive, fierce-looking man with red head, while the other was a woman who would have been attractive if she hadn't had such a thick neck and a scar running over her left arm.

Exiting her Jetcopter, Videl moved towards the two former CCDD Soldiers, before realizing that the large man moved with a strange step. Not quite a limp, but… odd. As he stepped closer, Videl saw a flash of metal from underneath his shorts, right where his knee should have been.

'_That's one of the guys that fought the Commander in that church!_' Videl realized, remembering the scene. The Commander had shot one of the Soldiers in the knee, completely destroying the limb.

"Follow us please." The woman said as she walked closer to Videl. The man kept his distance and didn't drop his weapon. So, at least, they considered her a threat, which somehow gave Videl a small boost in confidence.

'_If they're worried I can hurt them, I can._'

Taking a deep breath, Videl stepped forward, passed the female Soldier and walked towards the factory. She was in lair of the lion now, no sense in keeping danger waiting much longer.

* * *

Beta Note: I fucking LOVED this chapter, seeing Gohan take command is badass. This chapter is definitely approved and beta'd by myself, Kushin eX.

As always, please leave a review telling me what you think.


	54. Chapter 54

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

A/N: this chapter is un-beta'd because Kushin (my usual beta) has been very busy with school and a Kendo tournament. He'll be back at the end of the weekend and check the chapter then, until then… sorry for any mistakes. I'll upload the beta'd version as soon as I have it.

* * *

For hours now, Johnson had been sitting on a basic stool, his eyes locked on Sharpener and the other hostages. Every once in a while, the green-haired man would look at Erasa and keep staring at her, lust obvious in his eyes, but every time he managed to restrain himself.

The looks made Sharpener feel very, very uneasy. He still remembered how Johnson had remarked, last time he had held them hostage, that Erasa was just his type and he'd be all over her if he could. There was nothing Sharpener could do to keep the former CCDD Captain off his friend, should he try anything of the sort.

"W-w-w-will y-y-you p-p-please stop staring at m-m-m-me l-l-l-like that?" Erasa finally asked, now sitting as far away from Johnson as he bonds allowed. Somewhere in between the two blondes, Marron and Bra were both sound asleep, thanks to the drugs Johnson had given them. If they were lucky, they wouldn't remember anything of this.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't really with any of the captives, it seemed.

"No, I don't think I will." Johnson said, his eyes now locked onto Erasa's. Sharpener tried to move to the side, standing between the two, but he couldn't step forward. the iron chain was stretched as far as it could, thanks to Erasa. The four of them had been handcuffed and then chained on a single, large iron chain, which was in turn fastened to a metal ring on the ground.

"I'm too busy enjoying the view."

'_Damn, if this keeps up, it'll really go to hell._' Sharpener realized as Johnson's expression changed. He was seeing something more, something he wanted. '_I've got to distract him, fast!_'

"Hey Johnson, what the hell happened to you?" Sharpener heard the words leave his mouth before he had really given them any thought. Johnson immediately turned his attention away from Erasa, so it was a good question, but Sharpener wished he had placed some more thought into it.

"The fuck you talking 'bout kid?" He rose from his chair, glaring down at Sharpener.

"I mean, what happened to you?" Sharpener repeated. Damn, but this guy was creepy when he was glaring down like that. "You're different from when you took over Orange Star High."

"Yeah well kid, here's a lesson of life for you; people change. Get fucking used to it."

He turned his back on Sharpener, but the teen didn't stop there.

"I know that. but you changed a lot in a short time. What did they do to you to make you like this?" Johnson froze in place, tension visible in his shoulders. "Back when you took us hostage at Orange Star, you tried to make us all relax, keep us cool. You didn't let anything get to you, until the Commander arrived and kicked the shit out of you. Before that, you were as cool as can be. Hell, if you hadn't taken us hostage, I'd say you were a cool guy. But this… this isn't like you were last time. What happened to you?"

In one swift, dangerous, movement Johnson turned over and appeared next to Sharpener, giving the blond a good close look of his face again. Like before, Sharpener felt squeamish when he saw the mechanical replacement of Johnson's eye, but this time he didn't back down.

"You hoping to hear some overly dramatic, life-changing, emotional story about how I developed a personal philosophy that dictates I destroy the world or something?" He started, "'cause isn't that pretty much how any decent bad guy works according to you Japs? Well, I've got some news for you; I don't give a rats ass what happens to the world. I just want to stay alive, enjoy my life while I can and get back at the people that fucked me over."

"So, revenge then?" Sharpener asked. "Someone hurt you and you want revenge on them? is that why you told Videl and the Commander to come? Because they defeated you la-"

The sound of the backhand silencing Sharpener was hard enough to almost wake up the kids. Fortunately, Sharpener had seen the blow coming and moved his head with it, reducing most of it's damage. Even so, it hurt like hell.

"Don't think you can play smart with me kiddo." The older man said as he stood up. Walking over to his stool, he sat down and reached for something at his side. "Oh fuck, I forgot. I don't have my smokes anymore. Goddamnit."

With an effort, Sharpener managed to get back into a sitting position, but his vision still swam for a moment. '_Damn, that one hurt._'

"But if you want to hear it so badly… We've got some time to kill before our guests arrive, so why the fuck not? As you know, after my little skirmish with the Commander, I was send to prison. But I wasn't send to just any old prison. Oh, fuck no. The judge was a big fan of Videl's, as is almost everyone on this entire fucking planet, and that stuck-up son-of-a-bitch decided that I had to be send to a maximum security prison for life. Kinda unreasonable, since I only killed one guy and only scared some of the others. But anyway, there it is, I was send to prison."

Again Johnson reached near his side, but again his hands came up empty.

"Ah, fuck this. I need something in my mouth." Looking sour for a moment, he picked up a metal pin from the ground and stuck that in his mouth instead. "Now, I'm pretty sure you must have seen a prison in a movie or something right?"

Sharpener nodded. He'd seen plenty of shows on TV that portrayed prison as a hell on earth.

"The real thing is nothing like it. And this place was one of the worst; the criminal being held by the corrupt. Every single one of the guards had some arrangement with the prisons, taking money or favors or something else in return for turning a blind eye or giving privileges. So, you can imagine what it's like when you get in there. But it gets even better; every one of the guards in that shithole – no exceptions, every single fucking one of them – spends hours a day jacking off to the posters of _international superhero Videl Satan_. So, when I arrived, they were really happy to see me."

Johnson took a breath, in which time Sharpener wondered… how much of Johnson's story was factual truth? And how much of it had been warped by his own visions?

"See, I was send there right after the Commander was finished with me. Didn't even take them two fucking days. So, when I arrived at the prison, I was still pretty beat up and weak, not to mention missing an eye and a hand. The prisoners all jumped me like I was a pile of gold. The guards did nothing to stop it, until I managed to knock three of the shit-bags out. then they pulled us apart and started beating on me. Motherfuckers! It continued on every single fucking day. Hell, most of the inmates themselves were big fans of your crime fighting friend. The guards allowed the prisoners to beat me up, only stopping them so they could enjoy the pleasure themselves. I was only given the most basic of medical care to stay alive."

"Wow, that must have been horrible." Sharpener heard Erasa gasp from behind him, but she seemed to have calmed down.

"You think that's horrible? I haven't even reached the best part yet." Johnson made a laugh, but it was devoid of any humor. It was a cold, hard sound. "You have to understand, kiddies, that prison is full of bastards that will never, ever, in their entire fucking lives see, touch, or fuck a woman again. So, they take what they can get. And when you're beat up every day without fail, you quickly become to weak to fight back. Before long, I was the personal bitch of the entire goddamn prison. I spend months in there, constantly beaten, humiliated, abused and what-not. So yes, I may have changed a little. I'm fucking sorry if I did. But, hey, let's just say prisons fucks you up. In ALL senses of the word!"

Again Johnson let out a booming laughter, but like before, it was humorless. Sharpener didn't know what to say after that and apparently, neither did Erasa. Johnson, who was now shaking with suppressed anger, stood up as he continued talking.

"But then they appeared. As I was lying in my cell, beat up and abused for the day, my wall was suddenly torn down. My mysterious savior pulled me out of there, but not before laying death and destruction to half the place. But that wasn't all; I was brought here, tended to by medics and made stronger. Now, no-one can dare to stand against me. Just let them try me. With my new toys, I'll tear them all down."

As he made the last exclamation, he raised his left hand – which was made entirely out of strange metals, and pointed at his mechanical left eye.

Just then, one of the monitors gave a beep before springing to life, showing the outside of the factory. It was a wasteland, no civilization visible for miles around, other then one lone jetcopter.

Videl had found them.

XxX

As Videl followed her two escorts through the hallways of the old metal-working factory, Videl had to admit that Johnson had been right. The place was a maze! Every couple of meters they walked past hallways or rooms that led somewhere. On her own, Videl could have probably spend days in here and still not find them. Neither of the CCDD Soldiers said a word to Videl as they led her deeper and deeper into the complex, descending multiple stairs until they must have been at least ten meters underground.

Finally, though, they entered through a final doorway and Videl was dumbstruck for a few seconds as she looked at the massive chamber. This must once have been the metal-melting room, because there were several large, thick cauldrons on chains scattered throughout the room. The room itself was incredible large, at least twenty meters high – it must be above the ground, as well as below, Videl realized – and almost two hundred meters wide.

Videl took the time she was literally gawking at the room to make a strategic analyses as well. The room was massive, yes, but the floor was littered with metal boxes, storages or old pipes and the like. There would be no shortage of cover there, except for the cleared area where Johnson was keeping Erasa and the others. Higher up, metal walkways crisscrossed each other on six or seven different levels, giving the Soldiers stationed there a clear view of the area and a perfect sniper's position.

'Expertly set up, of course. This is going to be tough to handle.' Fortunately, Videl already had a basic plan in mind for how she would deal with this situation.

"Videl Satan!" Johnson's voice echoed throughout the massive room as the muscular man stood up and greeted her. "Well, I just lost fifty bucks, thanks to you showing up on time. I guess I should say congratu-fucking-lations for finding us."

He was standing right besides Erasa, so Videl couldn't just attack from a distance either. Videl's escort followed her as she walked forward. What she needed now, was time. Time to create an opportunity.

"Why did you want me?" She asked, her eyes darting to find other CCDD Soldiers scattered across the floor. She could see five of them, including her escort, so that left eight others to be found. "Why call me over? You got some vendetta with me all of a sudden?"

"Me? Oh hell no girl, don't get all high-and-mighty. I don't give a shit about you, but this isn't my call. You see, I'm a mercenary; a hired gun, paid to do someone else's dirty work. And my employer wants your head on a pike. Oh and speaking of my employer."

Johnson reached behind him and pushed a few buttons on a large computer behind him. A screen, almost as large as the one Gohan had used in Capsule Corporation, flared to life, but it only showed static. A voice was clearly heard though, so Johnson's employer had purposely disabled the visual aspect. He didn't want to be found out.

"Welcome, miss Videl, I'm so glad to see you here. My congratulations on finding us, I must admit that I was beginning to fear your detective skills weren't as good as I had hoped they'd be."

'_Yeah, like it was my detective skill that brought me here. I owe Gohan for that._' Videl was trying to identify the owner of the voice. The voice itself was easy to alter and therefore useless in identifying it's owner. What she was listening for, instead, was a familiar usage of words or tone.

"Unfortunately," the voice continued on, "you will die here today. My dear captain, if you would please."

Johnson raised a hand and opened his mouth, but before he could give his men the command to fire, Videl acted. Bringing both her hands forward at once, she fired a single, powerful ball of energy at Johnson and hit him straight in the chest. The attack send the tall American flying backwards, straight through the computer screen and the wall behind it.

With Johnson out of the game, only three other CCDD men were near enough to be a threat. The other two on the same floor were far away and a worry for Videl to deal with after her friends were safe.

Sharpener apparently caught on to Videl's idea, because he yanked on the chain holding him down, giving him some space to move, and launched himself forward. The Soldier with the mechanical-knee was just outside of the range of Sharpener's fists, but the boxer didn't even attempt to punch him. Instead, he slid onto the floor himself and kicked out, hitting mecha-knee's good knee and toppling the large man over.

In the same instant, Videl disappeared, moving faster then a normal eye could see, and appeared behind the scared woman, the second of her escort. With a quick punch combination of stomach-solar-plexus-rips-neck the woman was down on the floor and unable to get back up. Before she had fallen down, though, Videl had appeared behind the last Soldier, but he turned around in time to block her kick.

Still, Videl's kick hit with enough force to swipe away the man's block. Putting her feet on the ground, Videl caught the man's desperate haymaker, a last attempt at defending himself, and stepped in. with one arm most likely broken and the other held by her, Videl had clear access to the man's torso. Her fist hit made him cough up spit, the second hit had already lifted him from the ground, the third hit knocked the last bit of air out of his lungs and the fourth and final hit send the man flying an impressive distance.

"VIDEL!"

It was Sharpener's voice and as she turned around, she saw her friend had stood up again and held his bound wrists above his head, the chain in his hands.

XxX

From another room in the same factory, Styring was sitting next to the Doctor, both watching the various screens in front of them. Since this was one of the things Styring had made a part of their bargain, he was present to watch it. Cameras hung all around the room, allowing the two a perfect view of the events in the room.

Of course, when Videl suddenly pushed her hands forward and struck Johnson from over six meters distance, then moved almost too fast for the camera's to follow, had surprised the both of them immensely. In fact, neither said a word as Videl knocked out two of the cybernetic-enhanced Soldiers in seconds.

"My dear doctor," Styring said, faking amusement to hide his distress at Videl's sudden abilities, "I thought you said that no normal human could perform such feats?"

The Doctor, however, didn't answer, or even acknowledged Styring.

"Well," the billionaire continued, "I guess this just shows that humans are that much more incredible then you give them credit for. Impressive, since she has no enhancements, but nothing that the good captain can't take care of, I'm sure."

On the screen, Videl shot another of the yellow orbs, this one connecting with her friend Sharpener's chains. The orb disintegrated the bonds instantly, freeing the hostage.

"Damn, there goes our bargaining chip" Styring remarked with annoyance. With her friends, Videl could well just decide to escape, rather then stay and fight to the death.

XxX

The explosion of Videl's energy ball was small, perfect for destroying the chains and nothing else. Sharpener lowered his hands, punched the CCDD-er with the metal knee as he tried to get up to keep him down and then turned. Because he had held the iron chain, Erasa and the girls could now move freely as well, but the kids were still out cold.

Videl was bursting into movement again, but Sharpener didn't stay to look. He had other important things to do right now.

"Erasa!" For once the girl wasn't petrified in place by events, already getting up and freeing her hands from the chain. She was still scared, but at least she was moving and thinking. Sharpener bend down and picked up a girl in each hand. "Follow me!" He immediately dashed towards a load of steel boxes, iron pipes and other large junk that would make for good cover. This place would turn into a hail of bullets in seconds and he needed to get the girls to some safe place quickly.

Once they reached the storage, Sharpener kept his head low, glancing over his shoulder every once in a while to make sure Erasa was still following him. The boxes, pipes and all other kinds of metal made this part of the room into another maze and Sharpener made turns at random, hoping to find a good spot. The first dead end he found was far too low, it wouldn't hide Erasa from sight, so he continued on. The second was a good height, it would have Erasa facing in the direction where most snipers were. Again, not a good idea.

Finally, after five dead-ends, Sharpener found a hiding place that would do. it was covered by boxes that reached over twice Sharpener's length and the opening was facing a wall. It would hide them from sight perfectly.

"Stay here." Sharpener ordered, pushing Erasa into the hiding place and putting the girl on the ground. "Watch over these two. If they happen to wake up, just keep talking to them. Hold this and keep it with you." Sharpener quickly pulled of his leather jacket, freeing his arms and losing it's additional weight. With an expert twist, he pulled his hair into a ponytail before he turned around.

"Wait, Sharpener." Erasa's voice was weak, but something in it held him back. He turned around, looking at her. She was close to tears. "Don't die. Please, just tell me you won't die."

Immediately Sharpener bend down on one knee, wiping her tears away with his hands. "I won't die. I promise I won't do anything stupid like getting myself killed."

The lie tasted bitter in his own mouth, but Erasa needed to hear it. With that, Sharpener turned around and ran, using the multitudes of cover in the room to hide him from the gunfire and other kinds of attacks going on in the room.

XxX

Even as she fought, Videl was completely surprised by what she herself was doing. Ever since she had learned how to use her energy, she had only ever fought against Gohan while using it. Gohan was, of course, always just a bit faster and stronger then her, but now that she was seeing just how much stronger she had gotten.

Although the CCDD Soldiers were all shooting at her from various angles, Videl could easily see the bullets coming and evaded them all with ease. It was like the bullets were moving in slow-motion to her, but there were still enough of them to prevent Videl's effective advance. Coming from so many different angles, Videl couldn't predict the path of the bullets to escape them. It had happened before, when she saw the Commander fight with Johnson and when Gohan had gone berserk in the clothing shop, but now she knew why. Gohan explained it to her; in those times of stress, her body slightly activated her energy.

She had been using her energy for months, whenever she was in deep trouble, without ever realizing it. Now that it was under her conscious control, it made fighting against guns almost too easy.

Sharpener had let Erasa and the girls to a safe place a few minutes before – or was it seconds, now that time seemed to be so slow for her? – so Videl wouldn't have to worry about that. The CCDD Soldier with the metal knee that Sharpener had knocked down twice now was back up and he was spraying bullets at Videl, just like another Soldier – this one unfamiliar to Videl, but with red hair – on the ground level. There were at least six different Soldiers shooting at her from the upper levels.

'_I'm in a shooting gallery with a bull's-eye painted on me._' Videl realized, cart wheeling to the side to evade another series of bullets. These CCDD guys were good! Even with her faster-then-humanly-possible movements, they kept readjusting their aim to try and hit her. '_Time for the bull to bite back._'

Instead of ducking to the side to evade mecha-knee's bullets, Videl charged forward underneath the spray, closing in on the large man quickly. He readjusted his aim as she came running at him, but Videl pushed off from the ground, used her energy to speed herself even further and spun around the stream of bullets and moved into a high spin-kick, perfectly striking mecha-knee on the temple with her heel. He crumbled like a cart house, but Videl was already moving towards his red-haired colleague.

Like mecha-knee, Redhead quickly adjusted his aim, but when Videl came close, he dropped the rifle he carried and instead charged back at her. Videl stepped aside from his fist – it was moving faster then the bullet had! – but her counter-knee was blocked by the man's other hand. Instead, Videl smashed her elbow into the man's back. A normal man would have screamed in pain by the impact, but obviously Redhead was made of tougher material.

He turned, trying to backhand Videl, but the raven-haired crime-fighter used an elbow-block to stop his arm, then held the muscular limb in place with one hand as she kicked the man in the stomach hard enough to lift him off the ground. Her other hand was viciously smashed into Redhead's open ribs, hard enough to shatter most of them on impact. Like Mecha-knee before him, he went down instantly, only he howled in pain.

The hail of bullets had stopped momentarily when she was engaging the other two in melee-combat, but as soon as the two had dropped the rain of bullets continued. Looking around the room for a second, Videl nearly froze in her tracks for a second. There was a third remaining Soldier on the ground level, but he wasn't holding a rifle or machine gun. Instead, he was holding a rocket launcher, aimed straight at her.

Bullets, Videl could dodge, but rockets? They didn't need to hit her to kill her…

Videl tried to dash towards the man, but the gunfire from higher levels kept her in place. Just as the Soldier was ready to pull the trigger, Sharpener appeared out of the junk at the man's side, his fist making contact with the man's throat.

Although the RPG-wielder was pushed back and stunned by the blow, Sharpener didn't stop there. He immediately rained down a hail of vicious punches, striking at rips, throat, temples and even one at the man's groin, before he finished with a full-swing, full-power uppercut to the man's chin. The way his head snapped back didn't give Videl much confidence that the man was still alive.

Realizing that four of their fellows were now out for the count, the remaining Soldiers intensified their gunfire, shooting full-spree instead of bursts now. Sharpener ducked behind the cover that that RPG-guy had been using. Videl rushed over to him, evading the bullets as she went.

XxX

The room was only dimly lit, all the light in the room was focused on the now empty table. Gohan stood next to the table, leaning on it. The room was, fortunately, empty. If it hadn't been, people would have probably been scared by Gohan's expression. For at least ten minutes now, ever since he had finished getting dressed, he had been standing there, thinking over his options.

Johnson's reappearance and his kidnapping of Marron and Bra, along with Erasa and Sharpener had nearly boiled his blood in pure, unadulterated rage. Thankfully, he had managed to stay calm and reasoned his way to Johnson's location, but now that he was alone he was quickly losing the fight to suppress his emotions.

Since he had entered the room to get changed, he had been in an internal debate. Logic fought reason and anger, all in a large clash that threatened to drown Gohan.

'_I can't do this._' He told himself, still not moving. '_It's too risky. What if I have to react quickly?_'

'_No, I have too._' He answered himself almost immediately. '_If I don't, I'll ruin everything if I get careless even for a second. The plan is paramount, I can not risk it. Timing is everything. This is my best means of staying in control, I have to._'

Those same arguments had been going through his mind since he had arrived in the room. now, however, the final argument was finally starting to convince him. Logic was winning the internal battle after all.

'_A warrior doesn't let fear rule him._' Gohan recited, one of the many sayings he had heard about warriors throughout his life. '_Fear exists, it is a constant, but the warrior is never ruled by it. I can not let my fear overcome me and jeopardize the plan._'

Having finally made his decision, Gohan turned around and walked out of the room, his face quickly assuming a more controlled expression. Yes, his anger and fear still existed, but he wasn't controlled by them. Now was a time for action, true, but for controlled action with a plan, not mindless bravado and rushing into enemy camps.

'_Yes, the time for talking and thinking is over.'_ Gohan decided as he walked past the Supercycle. That project was nearly in a testing stage, but it would still require time. _'It's time for action.'_

Pushing a button next to a door, Gohan was blinded for a second by the change in lighting, but he didn't let that stop him as he stepped forward. It was time he joined the battle.

XxX

"What the hell do you think you're doing you idiot?" Videl yelled over the gunfire as she crouched down next to Sharpener. Since the two had taken cover the gunfire had died down substantially, but the CCDD Soldiers were still keeping up a suppressive fire by shooting in bursts and steady intervals, one or two at a time.

"Helping you out." Sharpener yelled right back, his eyes scanning the area behind Videl. "I hid Erasa and the girls somewhere, so they should be save, but I figured you could use a hand. You're kinda outnumbered."

"Yeah, I know. We got your message, Gohan picked it right up. Nice work by the way." Videl reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell. Instead of calling, however, she only pushed two buttons, calling whoever she had called last, before hanging up after it had rung twice. Sharpener gave her a strange look. "I told Gohan I'd call him if I got the computer destroyed. He'll alert some backup he's got ready."

"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Sharpener admitted, though it might have come out a bit sarcastic. Gohan had told him what his friends were capable off. He was about to ask Videl what the plan was, but suddenly some of the bullets ripped right through their cover and shot in between the two of them. Sharpener threw himself down on the ground, next to the redhead he had knocked out earlier, but Videl's hand were flying through the air.

As she opened her hand, Sharpener saw that she was holding some of the bullets that had been shot at them. They looked weird, the tips twisted from a normal bullet.

"Shit, those are armor-piercing rounds." Sharpener realized. "They must have switched magazines; these'll go straight through anything, we're not safe here anymore. We have to deal with them now!"

"Good idea, got a plan for that?" Videl asked, raising a shield of energy around the two. That, at least, the bullets didn't manage to penetrate. Unfortunately, the shield was taking a great deal of effort on Videl's part. Sharpener looked around and immediately found his answer.

"We use this." He said as he picked up the RPG that the redhead had been about to use on Videl. "This should give us some time to escape and clean them up."

"You sure you know how to use that thing?" Videl asked, the strain in her voice obvious.

"Just point and shoot, it's a rocket launcher, not a fighter jet. Anyway, once I fire this, you go up to the higher levels and work your way down, I'll deal with the guys on the lower levels. Ready?"

Videl gave a nod, then dropped the shield as Sharpener pointed the RPG in the general direction where the bullets were coming from and squeezed the trigger. The rocket shot out of the weapon instantly and the explosion on the wall was almost as quick. The explosion itself seemed to stun the CCDD Soldiers for a second, which the two teens used to their advantage.

Sharpener saw Videl shoot up towards the ceiling, before he turned around and made a mad sprint to the stairway leading to higher levels. He was up the first stair and using some of the things stored on the metal stairways – damn, this place was a real mess, but it made for some great cover – to stay out of sight. A CCDD Soldier on the first floor turned around as Sharpener jumped at him, but Sharpener punched his weapon to the side and quickly lashed out at the man himself.

Although small, the Soldier was also fast, evading every one of Sharpener's punches, before returning with a flurry of his own. It took all of Sharpener's skill to stay clear of the punches, moving as fluently as he could but finding no opening for a counterattack. He was the more skilled boxer of the two, but the CCDD Soldier was the quicker fighter.

The Solder stepped back, then pulled out a knife from his belt, ready at his side.

"Die." As the Soldier lunged at Sharpener, the blond boxer did as Gohan had taught him over the past months, isolating all things that would distract him so he could focus on his opponent. As soon as the Soldier had opened his mouth, Sharpener had realized that he was actually a she, but it didn't matter. Not now. In a solid, powerful step, Sharpener knocked the hand holding the knife away and punched the Soldier on the throat with his full weight behind the punch.

There was a sickening sound of something snapping as the woman fell back and Sharpener felt a moment of sickness rising in him. Then he mastered himself as two more CCDD Soldiers gave screams from up above – one of them was the voice of a man, but screaming like a girl. The screaming Soldier actually fell down a moment later, again with a disgusting sound as he landed. Two sets of weapons fell after him.

Running up the stairs, Sharpener barely ducked aside in time as more bullets flew over his head. The Soldier on this level had spotted him and wasn't letting him get close. Peeking around the corner, Sharpener noticed that this Soldier was big, black and had an impressive beard. That was all Sharpener could notice, before the Soldier opened fire on him again.

'_I need something to grab his attention._' For a second time Sharpener risked a peek and almost immediately he was shot at again. '_There. Metal pipes._'

Still leaning against his cover with his back, Sharpener extended his leg and used his foot to pull in two metal pipes. This entire corner was littered with iron pipes, thankfully, and Sharpener immediately tossed the two pipes around the corner. He heard two loud grunts, following on each other, and immediately dashed around the corner.

The bearded Soldier's feet had been struck by the pipes, explaining the temporary stun, but he was quick to recover, aiming his gun at Sharpener as he closed in. just as he wanted to pull the trigger, Sharpener was close enough and dived into him, pushing the man back into the wall and knocking the gun to the side.

Now that he was in his preferred range, Sharpener immediately struck towards the bearded man's face, but his fist was easily caught and intercepted. Attempting to strike with his other hand, it met the same fate. The larger man was holding Sharpener up by his arms, raising him to eye level and pulling hard.

"Foolish, foolish little boy." The man said. His voice was oddly light for such a big man, "I'm an enhanced superhuman. I've got implants to grant me superhuman speed, reflexes and strength. You're just a stupid kid who knows how to box. What can you possible hope to do?"

"Improvise!" Sharpener exclaimed as he headbutted the dark man in the face, then immediately kicked him in the groin. Shocked by the sudden pain, the man let Sharpener go and stayed hunched over for a second, giving Sharpener a perfect angle for his follow up; a full power, step-in uppercut to the man's throat.

"Damn, that guy has a hard head."

XxX

Johnson was still lying on his back, covered by some of the rubble from the wall and large-ass TV screen that he had been send flying through.

'_Damn, nobody said she got stunts like that up her sleeve. Little bitch's learned to keep her tricks hidden._' For the past few weeks, his men had been working on gathering data on Videl, setting up fake robberies and hostage situations, just so they could see how she would react, but in none of those situations she had reacted anything like this. Johnson hated running into a fight without knowing what his opponents could do.

'_Let's see here. It's got a decent range, obviously packs a big fucking punch and travels fast. Might be a pain in the ass to deal with._' Even so, the large former-Captain pushed the debris that was covering off of him and stood up. He was still unharmed from the attack, except for some minor burn marks on his abdomen and a now-ruined shirt. While outside the gunfire was almost deafening, Johnson simply brushed the dirt that was covering him off first.

A minute or so ago someone had fired a rocket and the explosion had woken him up. The little girl's attack had actually knocked him out! Damn, that attack must pack more of a punch then he'd have thought. Just as he was checking if he still had all his teeth, the Doctor and Behersk called in.

"What?" Johnson answered the call, glad it was hands free. While he was talking to them he could continue checking his teeth. Outside he heard one of his men scream like a little girl before he was silenced with a sickening crush.

'_Oh, the little bitch's learned how to fight like a grown up. Whoop-die-fucking-doo._'

"Johnson, get back out there and deal with them!" Behersk ordered him. "Those two teens are killing your men. KILLING them! I've spent too much money on all of you to have you killed by some stupid teenagers on your first mission. Get back in and deal with them. NOW!"

"Oh, quit your fucking whining." Johnson snapped. All his teeth were still in place, thankfully, but he still wanted to make sure he was in one piece. "I'll check it out in a second."

"No, Mr. Johnson." The Doctor was now speaking, his voice odd from years of not usage. "You will go out there now and fight them, or I will activate an overwriting program that will paralyze you on the spot for the next forty or so years. Do I make myself clear? I have no desire to reveal my treasures against such trash."

"Fine, fine. Don't get your fucking knickers in a goddamn twist you whining assholes. I'll go out there and I'll fucking kill those fucking teens. Can I at least keep the blond bitch for myself?" '_Odd. I used to despise rapists._'

"Johnson, stop your whining and do your job!" Behersk was really feeling the pressure then. If he resorted to such crude language.

"I said I'd do it. Calm the fuck down."

Walking through the hole he had been blown through earlier, looking around the room almost casually. There, next to the dead body of Alpha-7, the now-deceased Enrique Jorges, lay two rifles that he could use. Checking up on them, Johnson saw they were already loaded with armor-piercing ammo. Stripping Enrique's body off another two magazines of bullets, Johnson held a rifle in each hand, looking up at the railing. Those kids were doing some excellent work indeed. No wonder his men were all having trouble.

'_Well…_' Johnson thought as he looked around the room, '_there are more ways then one to win a fight._'

* * *

Let me know what you think in a review.


	55. Chapter 55

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the DBZ universe, I'm just borrowing it for some harmless fun.

* * *

Despite all the danger, regardless of the bullets flying around and the fact that her friends had been held hostage and could possibly die in this empty, forgotten factory, Videl felt something strange as she fought. For the first time, she was feeling completely free while fighting. The bullets were too slow to hit her, thanks to Gohan's training, and she had full movement in all three dimensions.

It was unlike anything she would have ever imagined.

While she was enjoying the thrill this particular battle was giving her, Videl was still cautious. She could dodge the bullets, but she wasn't ready to see if her muscles were strong enough to block them. so, instead, she flew around the spray of bullets, quickly closing in on her next target.

This particular CCDD soldier was nearly seven foot tall and even with his massive height he was more then a little bulky. When Videl got close, he dropped his gun, instead taking a swing at the petit girl. Videl floated back just enough for the punch to miss, leaving the massive soldier overextended and vulnerable. A kick to the stomach, followed by a punch just underneath his armpit and a finisher on the temple finished him off in a second.

As her latest victim was falling down, Videl did a quick check. Sharpener had taken care of two soldiers on the lower level, so there were still five remaining, all on the stairs.

'_That's manageable._' Videl thought. The stairs themselves were their saving grace; it made it nearly impossible for the Soldiers to get an aim on people on higher or lower levels, so each encounter was one-on-one.

Just as Videl was about to fly down a level and surprise the next soldier, she saw Johnson walking out of the hole in the wall she had created. He had flown clear _through_ the screen and wall, but from how he was walking he was completely unharmed.

"How the hell?" Videl started, but she was interrupted by a loud bang to her side. Turning around and ducking to the side, Videl barely avoided a bullet that had been aimed for her head. The soldier from a level below, a medium-sized man with a mass of light-red hair, had decided to take the fight to her.

He kept firing, alternating between full-auto and precision bursts, but none of the bullets even came close to striking the teenager. She was simply too fast. However, the carrot-top soldier proved himself a very accurate shot; every time Videl tried to close the distance, he changed his aim so she couldn't get close.

After the third attempt at rushing in failed, Videl took a different approach. As she dodged another round of bullets she pushed her palm forward and shot a small sphere of energy at the soldier. He saw the blast coming and ducked to the side, but was a little to slow; his gun got struck by a miniature explosion, strong enough to damage the rifle beyond usage, but far too weak to hurt it's wielder.

Before the man's weapon had even fallen to the ground, Videl held him up to the wall by his shirt.

"How did Johnson take my blast without so much as a scratch on him?" She questioned him. The man smirked at her, but didn't seem at all bothered to answer her question.

"We all got upgrades while we were here, to make us stronger and faster and smarter, but no-one was upgraded more then the captain. He's on a whole different level. The Doc that fixed us up, he only gave us some kind of muscle and nerve enhancement. The captain got a couple of physical upgrades as well. There ain't no human that can take him on now, the Doc said."

"Thanks for telling me." Videl released her hold on the man, letting him drop down on the ground, before she hit him straight between the eyes. He went down like an origami crane instantly.

'_I'll deal with the other soldiers first, if I go down there I'm a sitting duck._'

Just as Videl made her decision though, she heard a familiar and terrified scream coming from down below.

'_Erasa!_'

XxX

As he watched the giant CCDD-er who had almost ripped him to shreds fall down, Sharpener fell back on his ass, breathing hard.

'_Damnit, I gotta get back up._ _There's only a few more left._' He told himself, but his body wouldn't listen, not for the moment. His back and chest both hurt like hell. Although the giant man had only held him for a few seconds, it felt like he had nearly ripped Sharpener's arms off and his chest and back muscles were paying for the strain. Not to mention the raging headache he was feeling as well, thanks to his impromptu headbut.

'_Damn, that guy was strong. Sorry Videl, I'm gonna need a few seconds here._' Raising his arms, Sharpener began to slowly massage his chest, hoping to ease the pain. It did help some, but it would take a while before he was back to full capacity. That was when he heard Erasa scream from down below.

The scream filled him with new fears and adrenaline, making him forget his pain for a second. As he stood up, Sharpener saw Johnson walking out of the area where Erasa had been hiding. Only Johnson was leading Erasa, who held both Marron and Bra, with one hand. The other held one of the rifles that his team of soldiers used.

"Hey kids, look what I found?" he yelled, pushing Erasa forward, making her stumble and trip. "I'm gonna make this really easy for you. give up or I kill her."

He pointed his gun at Erasa, who was looking more then a little terrified.

"You have five seconds to announce your surrender. One…."

'_NO!_' Sharpener felt a panic unlike any other rise up inside him as he tried to think. '_There's no way I can get down there in time to stop him._'

"Two…"

Looking around, Sharpener saw the rifle that the giant had used lying at his feet.

"Three…"

'_Here goes nothing._' Sharpener picked up the gun and immediately aimed it towards Johnson. He had Johnson straight in his crosshairs.

"Four…"

As soon as he had aligned the shot, Sharpener fired two bursts. Johnson looked up when he heard the sound, in time to step aside from the bullets coming his way. He was in time to avoid injury, but Sharpener's seconds burst still found it's target; the bullets knocked Johnson's rifle out of his hands.

When the rifle was skipping across the ground, Sharpener was already dashing down the stairs, his injuries forgotten in the rush of adrenaline. On the next level he shot another burst, forcing Johnson to step away from Erasa and the girls, then did it again when he reached the ground level. By now Johnson was also coming directly towards him.

"Videl!" Sharpener yelled. "Deal with the other soldiers. I'll deal with Johnson!"

Johnson stopped a small distance away from Sharpener, concentration and thrill written all over his face. Sharpener stepped to the side, the two long-haired men circling each other like predators.

Suddenly Sharpener faked taking aim with the rifle, prompting Johnson to charge in, but the blond instead threw the weapon towards the green-haired man. Surprised by the change of events, Johnson tried to catch the weapon, but didn't see Sharpener's punch coming in afterwards. Sharpener hit Johnson straight between the eyes with his first punch and on his left temple with his follow-up, stunning the older man for a second.

In that second, Sharpener charged forward, tackling Johnson back into the hole that had been created earlier, when Videl had blasted him.

XxX

"Sir! Incoming bogey." The private announced, drawing the attention of his commanding officer.

"What is it and where?" The commanding officer asked, setting down his notepad.

"Unknown sir, but bogey is approaching the area where Videl Satan was last detected."

"Put it up on the main screen, show me what we're dealing with." The CO ordered. At once the screen switched from the militairy's logo to a screen with a single blinking dot. In between blinks the dot had cleared over a quarter of the screen.

"That thing just moved half a click in a split second." The CO was stunned, to say the least.

"Sir, our readings say… no, this can't be."

"What is it private?"

"According to the readings the bogey is moving at a little over four-hundred miles per hour, sir."

"Say what? Contact all surrounding militairy bases, I want to know if anyone has an unauthorized training with a jet."

"Sir, it's not a jet." The same private interrupted. "It's not flying. It's moving on ground-level. It's a ground-vehicle, sir."

"Bogey is not responding to transmissions." Another private announced. "Orders, sir?"

"Contact command and tell them what we've got." The CO sighed. "But by the time we get a search going, that thing will be long gone."

XxX

Based on the gunshots still sounding from the main room, Sharpener understood that Videl was indeed fighting the remaining CCDD soldiers. Unfortunately, he had no time to worry about his friends as he stood across from Johnson.

Sharpener was by no means a small person and he didn't lack confidence, but Johnson was both taller and broader then him and seeing him standing there, his mechanical eye glowing red-ish in the dark room, Sharpener didn't feel all that confident.

Johnson hadn't even bothered taking a stance as he stared down at Sharpener. Sharpener took his stance, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet, when Johnson started to chuckle.

Sharpener took the opening, stepping in and attacking immediately. Every swing of his arms send a flare of pain through his chest and back, but he ignored it as he attacked time and time again.

Johnson, however, stepped aside, ducked below or slapped the punches aside with child-like ease. Sharpener's jabs were evaded, his one-two blocked with one hand and his short upper was equally useless. All the time Johnson just kept on chuckling. Suddenly Sharpener doubled over in pain, crashing to his knees. Johnson had struck without warning, planting his fist deep in Sharpener's abdomen.

As Sharpener sat on his knees, gasping for breath, Johnson took a few steps back.

"I gotta admit two things kid. First off, your boxing is gotten quite a bit better then it was last time you tried to hit me. Congratu-fucking-lations." To show his congratulations, Johnson punches Sharpener again, hitting him in the chest on purpose. The punch forced Sharpener back on his feet and smashed him into the wall behind him.

"The second thing is, you got guts. Saying you'll 'deal with me'? You got some damn nerve kid. But hey, if you wanna be a martyr for your friends so fucking badly, who am I to stop you. But you know… if you wanna earn the title of martyr, you're gonna have to work for it. so let's see just how much you can take, mister bravery."

Sharpener took a step forward, groggy on his feet, when Johnson stepped forward, his arm pulled back for a punch. Although he wasn't in his best condition, Sharpener still swayed to the side, avoiding the punch by a hair's wide. Instead, the wall behind his head got shattered as Sharpener stepped away.

'_Good thing Gohan kept pushing me._' Sharpener tried to cheer himself up as he tried to step away form Johnson. '_At least my body still knows what to do when I'm almost out._' as soon as Johnson was inside his attack range, Sharpener tried to jab, but Johnson caught the punch with ease.

"Time to bring the pain." He smiled a sadistic smile at Sharpener as he pulled the youth forward, smashing his fist into the blonde's head once before letting go of the arm, punching him in the stomach to create some more distance.

"Feeling it yet? I'm gonna take my sweet god-damn time with you."

Sharpener was definitely feeling it, but he wasn't going to show that. instead he tried to remember what Gohan had told him about different defenses. '_Move with the blow in order to reduce it._' he recited, '_mess up the point of impact and carry the forces to reduce pain._'

This time, when Johnson stepped closer, Sharpener only threw up a block, which Johnson took as an invitation to let loose. His first punch send Sharpener skipping back a few paces, only for Johnson to close the distance and strike again with bone-shattering force. This time Sharpener was nearly send flying to the side, barely managing to stabilize himself after a couple of steps.

Johnson struck again, this time striking Sharpener on the chin, sending the teen's head flying upward, his feet lifting from the ground. When he landed, though, Sharpener reassumed his fighting pose as if nothing had happened, making Johnson lift his eyebrows.

"Think toughness will let you live through this? Good fucking luck with that kiddo."

He struck again and Sharpener flew back again, nearly doubling over from the impact. When he planted his heels and came to a stop, though, the blonde resumed his fighting stance like nothing had ever happened. The sudden immunity to punches finally made sense to Johnson.

"Oh, I get it. You're using a soft block. Well, well, well. Time to see how long you can keep that up."

He stepped closer again, ready to punch, but when Sharpener raised his arms to block, the punch never came. Instead, Johnson rushed forward, ducked low and grabbed Sharpener around the waist. With the teen now pushed up against his shoulder, the former inmate stood up again, lifting the teen up and immediately dropping him.

The impact with the ground hard enough to slam the wind out of Sharpener and send fresh waves of pain through his body. Johnson stood over him, grinning down.

"Well kid, that was fun wasn't it?"

He raised his boot and placed it above Sharpener's head, ready to smash it down. Sharpener rolled to the side, pain flaring through his entire body, and managed to avoid a smashed face, but he didn't react in time to stop Johnson's follow up. The kick hit him in the left shoulder, which gave a painful and loud snap as the collarbone broke.

As Sharpener grabbed his broken shoulder in pain, Johnson reached down and pulled the teen up by his shirt.

"Time to bring the pain, martyr-boy."

While holding Sharpener up, Johnson punched him in the face, then the stomach, then the face again. dragging the teen over to the hole in the wall, Johnson lifted him up as high as he could, let go and then punched him full-force in the stomach. This time, Sharpener did double up from the impact, blood shooting from his mouth as he was send flying into the main room again.

Flipping, spinning and turning against his own will, Sharpener flew into the main room with uncontrollable momentum, before he came to a stop against a large container, stopping him in his tracks. Sliding out of the dent his body had created, Sharpener slid down into a sitting position, barely conscious and dripping blood everywhere, when Johnson stepped out of the hole in the wall.

Before Johnson got close, though, something big and heavy crashed into him from the side as Videl rejoined the battle. All the soldiers had been dealt with and Videl had picked up one of them to crash into Johnson.

"Erasa, see how Sharpener's doing." She ordered her best friend, who was sitting a short distance away, looking terrified. "And take the two girls with you."

The drug was apparently starting to wear off, since Marron was rubbing her eyes as she tried to get up. But Videl realized that she didn't have time to worry about them when Johnson send his former subordinate flying backwards and appeared unharmed.

Looking at each other, both Videl and Johnson dropped into their stances, stared at each other for a second, and then charged forward.

XxX

In their secured room, removed far from the large chamber where all the fighting was going on, both the Doctor and Styring Behersk were watching the fight with rapt attention.

"What do you say, Doctor?" Styring asked as he watched Videl take out another soldier with ease. "I dare say that both Miss Satan and her friend have exceeded the expectations you had for the human race, no?"

Said blond friend had just pushed Captain Johnson through the hole in the wall, removing them from the sight of camera's, but that simply allowed them full attention on Videl's superhuman performance.

"She is no ordinary human." The Doctor suddenly said. "With the speed she uses when moving and the strength of her attacks, she too must have some sort of cybernetic enhancements. It is impossible for a human to perform as she is."

"I highly doubt that. You clearly know nothing of the good miss Satan. She does not use any kind of enhancements for physical performance, both she and her father have taken a clear stand on this and have had people exiled from their gyms for usage of the weakest performance boosters."

"Well, she is performing higher then a human possibly could. What other explanation do you have for that? The boy is very foolish, but his abilities are within normal perimiters for humans. No matter how much I increase their physical abilities, your soldiers still have the numerous weaknesses of a human body."

"Indeed." Styring simply smiled. "But there is no denying that his performance is admirable. He is outgunned, outclassed and outnumbered yet still manages to turn the tide in his favor. Should he survive this ordeal, I think he will make for a fascinating next test subject, wouldn't you agree Doctor?"

While the Doctor nodded, neither could remove their eyes from the many screens, failing to see that the computer behind them, used to detect intruders, had completely shut down. Instead, their attention was on Sharpener as he flew back into the great chamber, smashed into a metal container and Videl quickly joined the fight.

XxX

Neither Videl nor Johnson wasted time with talking to each other, instead moving straight to fighting. Just before they first met, Videl upped her speed a notch, disappeared from sight and reappeared behind him, lashing out with her leg. Johnson blocked the kick to his back, then disappeared from sight as well, reappearing below Videl and trying to grab her around the waist.

Videl shot up, using her flying to escape his bear hug, then flew to the side and charged at him. Johnson turned, meeting her head on, and the two of them hit each other fist-to-fist. Videl was thrown back by the impact, but stabilized herself in the air, thinking for a new strategy.

Johnson had more brute strength, size, mass and reach then her, but Videl was clearly the more agile of the two, had a slight advantage in speed and she was pretty sure she also had more techniques up her sleeve then he had.

Videl charged forward again, disappearing from sight, then appearing behind Johnson, only to disappear again and strike him from the side this time. Johnson was turning around to counter her when her attack hit it's mark. The punch was strong enough to lift the large male of the ground and even send him flying, but Johnson wasn't seriously hurt. Instead he landed on his feet, turned around and let out a war cry as he charged forward.

Johnson closed the distance, standing at the perfect distance for his own fighting; Videl would have to extend her arms to the fullest to hit him, while Johnson had some room to keep his elbow bent. The range was definitely in his favor.

Videl swung her head to the side to avoid Johnson's straight punch, then tried to step in and punch him in the abdomen, but Johnson blocked with his other hand and immediately tried to take hold of her hand. Videl stopped him by kicking his arm, though it left her unbalanced. Swinging his arm to the side, Johnson took advantage of that and flipped her over. With Videl hanging upside-down for a second, Johnson immediately grabbed her around the waist and twisted around to slam her into the ground with a German Suplex.

As she was smashed into the ground, pain shooting up her entire body, Videl retaliated by kicking Johnson, who was also still on the ground, in the face. As Johnson was reeling back from the impact, Videl rolled in and jumped back to her feet.

'_I'm going to need some breath._' Videl thought as she saw Johnson also getting back up on his feet. "Hey Johnson," she tried to make her voice as taunting as she could, but breathing hard made it difficult to goat enemies, "Let's see if you can dance."

Raising her left hand, Videl fired four energy blasts towards the green-haired man. Seeing the yellow coming, he smirked and raised his own left hand. The mechanical device seemed to glow eerily in the light of the coming blasts and Videl had a perfect view of what happened. The mechanical fingers opened at the tips, revealing small barrel-like contraptions that immediately started to glow.

A blast of energy shot out of each barrel, thinner and longer then Videl's and a bright blue color. Johnson's blasts connected with Videl's, the blasts canceling each other out. Johnson's fifth blast didn't meet a counterpart and kept going towards Videl. The raven-haired crimefighter stepped to the side just before the blue beam hit her, then followed it with her eyes as it collided with a pole behind her. Instead of the explosion she had expected, the blast pierced _through_ the metal object and continued going.

"Satisfied?" Johnson sounded more maniacal by the second and the large red footprint on his face didn't do anything to make him seem more sane. "Now that we know we can dance, how about our audience?"

Johnson raised his hand to the side, aiming his fingers straight towards Sharpener, Erasa and the girls. Videl tried to open her mouth, but Johnson already fired. Moving as fast as she could, Videl managed to run past the blasts and appear before her friends, her own energy shooting out to negate Johnsons' blasts.

She managed to negate the first five blasts, but she hadn't seen the second round he had fired. They were already to close for her to negate, so she did the only thing she could. raising her arms in defense, covering them with a thin layer of energy, Videl took the five blasts. Three were negated by the energy on her arms, one rebounded off and moved towards the ceiling, but the last one found it's mark, coming into contact with Videl's side and cutting right through it.

Screaming in pain, Videl fell down to one knee and clutched her side. The blast had hit her at the right side of her abdomen, making the wound bleed heavily, but thankfully the blood wasn't black. Holding her hand against the injury, Videl had to struggle not to pass out in pain while Johnson walked towards her with a grin on his face.

Before he could stand near her, though, a loud booming sound, followed by the roar of an engine was heard from somewhere. Johnson immediately turned around, looking panicked, before turning away from Videl and dashing towards a nearby rifle. As soon as he had picked the weapon up he turned towards the hole that Sharpener had created when he fired the RPG to create a distraction and took aim.

A second later, a dark motorcycle appeared, jumping through the hole and straight towards Johnson, who was already squeezing the trigger. Looking up at the cycle while it moved through the air, Videl instantly saw and recognized the driver. The helmet was the same as most other motorcyclists used, but the long black trench coat, the belt over it and the large belt buckle saying CCDD were unmistakable.

The Commander of the Capsule Corporation Defensive Division. One of the biggest assholes Videl had ever known and next to Gohan the person she most wanted to see right now.

Videl watched as the bullets fired by Johnson impacted on the Commander's vehicle, but the Commander back flipped off the cycle, spinning in mid-air while the vehicle continued straight into the path of bullets that Johnson fired. While in the air, the Commander pulled out his own two massive sidearms and took aim at the cycle.

Johnson's bullets seemed to do little to the bike but damage it's pain, until they started penetrating the front of the vehicle and damage the engine. It closed in on Johnson fast while the Commander also took aim at the vehicle. Just as Johnson moved to the side to avoid the impact, the Commander shot both of his guns at once. With the superior firepower of his weapons and the better position, the Commander's bullets found their target at once. Impacting in the bike's tank, they machine exploded and covered Johnson in the blast.

Landing on his feet, the Commander turned around and dashed towards Videl and the others. He stood there for a second or two, looking down on her, before he bent down on one knee, pulled up Videl's shirt and ripped the lower half off. He then tied it around her middle, holding it in place with a rough knot. Without a word he stood up, then looked over at Sharpener and the girls.

Just as Videl was wondering why he wasn't doing more, she remembered that the Commander's helmet was more then just a piece of decoration. It had several high-tec functions in it and one of them was probably making a quick diagnostic.

He seemed to deem that Sharpener was alright, since he turned around and looked towards the still-raging inferno. Johnson stepped out of the fire, his clothing burned and ruined, some small burn marks on his arms but no serious injuries that Videl could see.

"Well, if it isn't the master of Holier-then-thou, Lord of all assholes and the biggest fucking jackass I know." He said, fury obvious in his voice. "So fucking glad you could make it. I'm gonna enjoy killing you slowly."

"You can try, Johnson." The Commander said as he raised both of his guns. "But killing me will be difficult when you die by my hand."

XxX

Johnson was only a second behind the Commander in raising his gun, both shooting while running to the side. As the bullets impacted in structures far behind either gunman, the Commander still managed to remove the fight from the wounded hostages. Both stopped their shooting when they ran past an old storage tank, at which point they switched tactics.

Knowing that Johnson favored aggressive tactics when possible, the Commander moved back from the crate, waiting for Johnson to jump over and open fire. Instead of jumping over the crate, however, Johnson went for a more direct approach. rushing forward with his entire body, the former captain charged through the container, leaving man-sized holes on both sides of the tank as he appeared, his gun already shooting wildly at the Commander.

For his part, the Commander stayed calm, rolling to the side and avoiding almost all the rounds. One managed to hit him in the arm just before he rolled to the side and it had moved straight through.

'_Armor piercing rounds._' The Commander quickly deduced as he kept on moving. '_Those rounds will go through anything, including my armor and me._'

Fortunately, the bullet had only scratched his skin, so there was no wound to speak off. But that did mean he couldn't afford to get hit with even one bullet.

Lifting both his guns again, the Commander stepped away from cover and opened fire on Johnson, who immediately returned in kind. While shooting, however, the Commander kept moving forward, strafing left and right to avoid getting hit, but definitely closing the distance. Seeing this, Johnson also rushed forward, sidestepping the Commander's destructive rounds as well.

As the two warriors closed the distance, they both tried to shoot, only to push each other's guns away. spinning around, they tried to shoot again, only for their guns to clash and shoot at opposite directions. As the Commander changed positions to take aim again, Johnson switched to a different play. Instead of trying to get his rifle in a shooting position, he reached out and grabbed one of the commander's guns in his metal hand and squeezed.

As the gun was crushed in Johnson's grip, making it completely useless, the Commander lashed out with his leg, smashing Johnson's rifle to bits. With no firearm remaining, Johnson tried to step back, only for the Commander to take aim again. Johnson wasn't quite done yet, though as he punched the gun before the Commander could pull the trigger. Caught between Johnsons' fist and the Commander's unmoving arm, the gun was just as ruined as it's twin.

"Round two, go!" Johnson announced as he stepped forward, his fist already flying for the Commander's chest. Stepping aside, the helmet-wearing warrior grabbed Johnson's arm, twisted it around and tried to subdue his former subordinate in a hold. Johnson stepped forward, kicking the Commander and freed himself, only for the Commander to immediately take the offensive. The Commander's fist impacted with Johnson's side, but Johnson held the Commander's arm in place with his own, taking the pain. Standing there, locked in close combat range and both with only one arm, they tried to gain control but failed.

The Commander tried to punch, but Johnson blocked it, tried to flip it around into another hold only for the Commander to twist his arm out and try to elbow instead. That also failed, since the Commander had to block Johnson's sudden hook. Twisting his arm again, the Commander managed to hold Johnson's arm captive much like his own was, holding the two men in place.

With their arms locked out of the fight, the Commander and Johnson both raised their knees and started smashing them together. As their knees met for the third time, the Commander suddenly moved forward, headbutting Johnson and breaking the hold. From there he immediately pressed his advantage, punching Johnson in the face and abdomen as he pushed him back, both fists flying.

In order to escape the punishment his former boss was laying on him, Johnson jumped back, flipped over and immediately pushed forward again. Although Johnson was moving at superhuman speed, the Commander was ready for the sudden charge. He stepped aside just in the nick of time, grabbed Johnson's outstretched arm and spun him around to create momentum. When he reached a high momentum, Johnson rendered nearly helpless as he was dragged around by his arm, the Commander let go, sending Johnson flying through the large chamber.

Johnson crashed into a collection of metal pipes of all sizes, generating a lot of noise as he came to a stop. The impact also made the pipes fall down, though only small pipes had been laid on the top. The large pipes didn't move. The Commander moved forward, slow and weary, when Johnson got back up on his feet. Looking around, the former CCDD captain picked up a long but thin pipe, swinging it as a staff.

The Commander stopped his approach when he reached the pipes scattered on the ground, waiting for Johnson to make the first move, not daring to risk sure footing for a killing blow. Johnson took the invitation with a grin, jumping far and high enough to clear all the pipes in one go, landing in front of the Commander, his pipe-staff already swinging.

The Commander sidestepped the first smash, ducked underneath Johnson's follow up, then spun on his heel to avoid a third strike and fluidly moved into a strike, aimed directly at the pipe. Under the Commander's brutal impact, the pipe immediately broke into two, Johnson now holding two small pipes in his hands. It didn't seem to bother him, though, as he moved into another form right away, smashing the two pipes into the Commander's arms and then backing off before he could be countered.

Johnson was swinging both pipes around in order to figure out their balance, taking a stance like he was using two swords, when he moved forward, stopped just short of the Commander and smashed the two pipes together. The hollow metal objects immediately started to ring loudly, enough to distract anyone who hadn't expected it.

The Commander's reaction was anything but expected, as he suddenly roared in pain and clutched his helmet with both hands, stepping back but nearly doubling over as he did so. Johnson looked equally surprised at the sudden behavior, but he didn't question it. instead, he took his advantage.

Stepping forward, he rained blows on the Commander with the pipes, striking with enough force to dent the pipes, smashing them together to generate the same ear-piercing noise every couple of strikes. The sound seemed to hurt the Commander more then the actual blows.

"What's going on?" Erasa had helped Videl get to her feet while the two larger man fought and had guided her back to where Sharpener and the girls were all sitting. The two girls were now up, though obviously still far from awake. Sharpener looked like hell, but Videl wasn't off that much better herself.

"I don't know." Videl answered, trying to figure out why the Commander was reacting like that. Sure the sound was annoying and possibly painful to the ears, but to react like that? In didn't make any sense… not unless… Videl thought back to her very first conversation with the Commander, one of the most hated conversations she had ever experienced, but one that had opened her eyes.

She had called the Commander a murderer for killing one of the CCDD soldiers that he had defeated, though the Commander claimed it was at the soldier's own request. After she tried to accuse him, he had told her that her father was also a mass murderer, before they changed the subject. He had told her how he could keep control of a fight despite his decreased vision in that helmet.

"**This helmet limits my vision, so as a means to compensate I turn the audio receivers to maximum. It allows me to hear my enemy's breathing behind me and your heavy breathing and yelps of surprises when you saw the fight. With that system I have an increase in hearing of about 500 percent. ****Very useful thought it takes some getting used too."**

"That's it!" Videl suddenly said, though a new wave of pain from her injury immediately dampened her spirit. "He hears every sound way louder then normal people do, that means those pipes smashing together is loud enough to shatter his ears. I've got to help him."

Struggling to her feet, pain coursing through her body with every movement, Videl took a few steps forward, when Johnson kicked the Commander back into a clear area. The pipes were now very much dented and bent, but Johnson didn't seem to care as he kept smashing them into his former boss. Videl raised both her hands and took aim, gathering energy as quickly as she could.

Before Johnson could smash the pipes together again, Videl's attack hit him and send him flying off of the Commander. Without Johnson raining blows on him, the Commander immediately tried to get back on his feet, but crashed down to one knee, his coordination next to nothing after the abuse his ears had suffered through.

A short distance away, Johnson got back on his feet, which seemed to make the Commander more focused as well. Steadying himself, the Commander started walking towards Johnson, until the two were within fighting distance again. Suddenly the Commander dashed forward, closing the distance faster then Johnson could react and took hold of his former subordinate in a crushing bear hug, lifting Johnson off the ground.

Johnson struggled all he could, but the Commander's hold was unbreakable. Kicking the coat-wearing man also didn't seem to help as he simply kept increasing the pressure. With both his arms locked at his side, Johnson was left nearly helpless.

From her vantage point a short distance away, Videl saw Johnson, while getting crushed, raise his mechanical hand and paint his fingers towards the Commander.

"Look out!" Her warning was too late as Johnson's fingers opened up and five blasts of blue-ish energy shot forward, piercing the Commander's helmet in five different places and exiting to create five more. The cracks immediately started to expand, spiderwebbing until the entire helmet started to crumble.

It's stability now compromised, the helmet started to fall apart, landing on the Commander's shoulders before continuing their descent to the ground. The Commander had moved his head in time to avoid any serious injuries from the blasts, but that had meant letting Johnson go. Johnson immediately created distance as he could finally look his old boss in the eye.

A distance away, Sharpener, Videl and Erasa were all stunned as they saw the Commander's face. Erasa, being the only one not fighting to stay conscious, was the first to speak up.

"You?"

* * *

Unbeta'd thanks to my recent addiction to Smallville. Unless Kushin can pull a miracle beta, in which case he'll replace this message.


	56. Chapter 56

Disclaimer: I don't own the DBZ universe or anything related to it.

* * *

Time seemed to freeze for Videl as she saw the five beams erupt from Johnson's hand and pierce the Commander's helmet. Almost immediately the beams burst out of the back, leaving ten holes which were quickly cracking larger and larger. Two of the beams had drawn blood, dragging it along their path as the Commander's helmet was suddenly one large spiderweb on the verge of breaking.

And then, suddenly, the cracks all fell apart, the helmet broke into a thousand small pieces, scattering on the ground, bouncing off the commander's head and shoulders and revealing his face.

Gohan's face.

There was no way to fake those gravity-defying black spikes, those pure black eyes or Gohan's facial structure. There was blood dripping out of Gohan's left ear, probably damage he had sustained from Johnson's attack with the metal pipes.

"You!" Videl heard Erasa's yell of surprise, but she was too stunned herself.

'_It can't be!_' she immediately told herself as she saw Johnson hold Gohan by his coat, '_he must be wearing the Commander's outfit to fool Johnson! That's it, he wasn't sure everything was safe so he got dressed as the Commander! Johnson said he wanted to Commander, there's no way that Gohan is the Commander._'

In the time it took Videl to think, however, Gohan had moved. Without uttering a word, he raised his leg, kneeing Johnson in the jaw so he was released, then immediately following up on his advantage by striking the former captain in the stomach, blocking a counterpunch and striking the green-haired man on the ribs. Johnson, also recovered from his surprise, held Gohan's arm against his side and punched.

Johnson's fist connected with Gohan's jaw, sending the teen reeling back. Gohan seemed to flow with the strike, still being attached to Johnson by his arm, but suddenly flipping backwards and raising one leg, aimed at Johnson's throat. Making a perfect vertical split, Gohan forced Johnson to back off or risk having his neck crushed under Gohan's boot.

Now that there was some distance between the two, Videl had a much clearer look at her boyfriend's face. He was focused in a way she had never seen before today. His face was almost exactly like it had been back when he was busy tracking down this very factory. No distractions, no anger or hatred or fear, just… focus on a duty.

It was very much unlike Gohan, feeling so… cold.

Gohan closed the distance in an instant, feinting with a punch then striking Johnson with a kick to the knee. The green-haired cyborg took the hit then struck with one of his own. Videl was only watching the fight with half her mind. The other half was slowly realizing something else.

'_That's not Gohan._'

She didn't know how it was possible, it WAS Gohan, but at the same time it wasn't. Gohan didn't fight like that, he was talkative while fighting, he would try to pry information out of his opponent or just make small talk in between throwing punches, like they often did in movies or comics. The real Gohan, the Gohan that she trained with and dated and loved would have made a remark about Johnson's surprised look when the helmet shattered before striking. Her Gohan would have turned to her at the first opening in the fight to give an apologetic smile, even if it did mean he'd get hit.

This Gohan never took his eyes of Johnson, never let him get back to his stance and kept up the pressure, seemingly not even caring that Videl and the others were right there watching.

"It's… not him." Sharpener had reached the same conclusion as Videl, which drew a surprised look from Erasa. "He's not acting like Gohan at all."

Videl heard Erasa mutter something, but her attention had been drawn back to the fight. Johnson had gained the upper hand, slamming Gohan into a collection of steel pipes, which nearly came loose, and raised his metal hand again.

The five beams burst forward again, but Gohan was already moving. Instead of letting the beams pierce his body, Gohan made a cartwheel over to the side – the exact same maneuver the Commander had performed months ago, when he had been shot at by the entire Satan City Police Department, Videl realized – and let the beams pierce through his long coat and the belt over it.

The large belt, used to hold the long coat in place, fell uselessly to the ground, it's oversized golden CCDD insignia bounding off the floor once before falling still. Gohan didn't seem to waste a second after that, shrugging his shoulders to drop the long coat on the floor and flipping back to create space between Johnson and himself. The flip put him close to his friends, but still Gohan didn't turn around to look at them.

But now that he was so close, Videl saw some differences between what Gohan was wearing and what the Commander had been wearing back when he had stopped the CCDD's attempt at taking her school hostage. She had seen him without his coat then, and the armor underneath was now different. It was still mostly black, but this version of the armor had additional stumps placed on various places, alongside several major muscle groups and on the knees and elbows.

The biggest change, however, was the second, glowing, belt that Gohan had been wearing underneath his long coat. When Gohan sidestepped Johnson's charge, Videl could see that, oddly enough, it had a digital number flashing on it.

500x.

XxX

The secret observation room where Styring and The Doctor were watching events unfold was awfully silent as they too saw the pieces of the helmet fall away.

Styring was stunned into silence as he saw the Commander's face. '_The only one to ever walk into my office and threaten me, then get away without any chance at repercussion is a child? He's hardly more then a boy! I was older then that when I – wait, I recognize him now! He's Videl's new friend, the one she's rumored to be dating without her father's consent. Did Bulma Briefs send him to protect her?'_

Meanwhile, next to Styring, the Doctor was fuming for an altogether different reason. He too had recognized Gohan and seeing the teen had apparently snapped the normally controlled scientist.

"YOU ARE MINE!" He literally shouted at the screen, though it was impossible for the teen to hear him, as he placed his hands on the computer's system. Wires sprang from his fingers and connected with the factory's system, immediately taking command of the communication systems and sending a variety of orders.

Styring immediately backed away hearing the more then obvious edge of madness setting into his partner's voice.

'_Who is that kid? And what the hell happened between the two of them?_'

XxX

Still sitting where she had been for the past several minutes, Videl watched Gohan and Johnson fight on and on, moving further and further away from where the Commander's helmet had broken and revealed who was beneath the helmet. As she watched yet another exchange between the superhuman fighter and the cyborg, Videl suddenly had a thought.

"Why doesn't Gohan just blow him to kingdom come? It should be easy for him to deal with someone like Johnson." The thoughts had been spoken aloud, something that she hadn't intended; what if she just ruined Gohan's cover as Saiyaman. That might have been why he kept his energy usage down!

"He can't do that." Sharpener said, his voice still pained but much better then it had been before. "It's not that he won't, it's that he really can't. See those strange bumps on his armor? They're part of a machine Gohan created for training, something he called a mobile graviton. Remember when Gohan came back home a while back, looking really pale? When Bulma said he'd had a heart attack? It was because he was testing that machine and used his energy. Without energy, it works perfectly, but if he uses it… the system gets screwed over, overcompensates like crazy and kills him. So, Gohan can't use his energy to kill Johnson on the spot."

"Wha?" Videl's eyes were immediately drawn away from the fight, instead sticking to Sharpener. Sharpener knew! '_But how? Gohan didn't even tell me, I had to find out on my own… and I remember when Gohan came back from work white as a ghost, but no-one told me what happened… how does Sharpener know all that?_'

"What the hell is he thinking, wearing that kind of thing while he's out here? That device can get him killed if he loses control for even a second." Sharpener continued, trying to get back on his feet. Erasa, sitting next to him, immediately started to support him, which the taller blonde obviously needed. Marron and Bra, now finally awake but still somewhat groggy, sat next to the injured boxer.

"Don't try to get up." Videl immediately warned. Sharpener was still alive, but he was still seriously hurt and with the beatdown Johnson had given him, he'd need some medical attention really quick.

"Erasa, where's my jacket?" although the question was without a doubt odd, Erasa still pointed to Marron, who had been wrapped in the sturdy leather earlier. "Give it to me."

Videl's attention was moved back to the fight, however, when she saw Gohan crash into a collection of massive metal pipes. The pipes – each large enough to crush a fully grown man – came loose from the impact and started to roll towards Gohan and Johnson. Johnson saw the pipes coming and disappeared from sight. Gohan, meanwhile, reacted a bit slower and could only grab the pipes before they could crash into him.

With a grunt of effort the thousand-pound pieces of metal were pushed to the ground harmlessly, as Gohan stood there panting. Johnson appeared behind him, ready to strike again, when the room was suddenly filled with the sound of static.

Johnson and Gohan both seemed to be confused by the sound, looking around as one of the still undamaged walls split open and revealed another larger-than-life screen. The screen still showed white-and-grey snow, but a voice was now clearly heard over the speakers.

"That will be enough!" the voice sounded odd, like it was rarely ever used. It obviously belonged to a man and if Videl would venture a guess, she'd say it was the voice of an older man. An older man who had long since gone senile or at least lost his sense of reason.

Johnson, however, literally froze in mid-movement, his eyes turning towards the screen without his body changing posture. Gohan, taking one look at Johnson, lashed out with his leg and kicked his rival in the head, knocking him down before turning his attention to the screen.

"Stop playing and show yourself." Gohan didn't so much as say it, like he normally would have, but instead he commanded it. More and more, Videl was beginning to worry. Who _was_ this Gohan and what had happened to her boyfriend?

The screen blinked once more then suddenly gained focus. An old man, like Videl had thought, showed his face. He had a big, impressive white moustache, but half his head and most of his hair were missing. In it's place, he had a metal plate, which opened enough to reveal an eye and parts of his mouth. He looked far worse then Johnson did and, in that moment, Videl knew that it had been this man who had arranged for Johnson's 'upgrades'.

"I do not play games." The elder man said, his voice definitely disturbing. When he spoke, it was with a mixture of a real voice and an emotionless, mechanical voice. Still, the madness was quite clear.

"Neither do I Gero." Gohan responded, still so different from normal, "How are you still alive? You died eight years ago, after your own androids betrayed you."

"Did I now?" Gero – as Gohan had called him – seemed to cackle with amusement. "I am… surprised. There is nothing in my databanks to indicate that you have ever met me. How do you know of my existence?"

"In short, you and another android tried to kill humanity out of revenge against my father, we stopped you, you released stronger androids, we fought them and then Cell interrupted. I killed Cell, end of story."

"Did you now? How… odd. I have no data on such events. It seems my computer has had a problem I hadn't been aware of. This does explain much, like how Saiyaman was able to overcome my androids."

Johnson got back on his feet, spitting out three teeth as he did so, and charged back at Gohan. Gohan, his eyes still on Gero, didn't react until it was too late.

"I will have to rectify that mistake then. Allow me to clarify; I am indeed Dr. Maki Gero, creator of the Androids and chief engineer of the former Red Ribbon Army. Not long after your father's resurrection, some ten years ago now, I deemed the time ready for the androids to strike."

Gero went on, now apparently content on telling his story, while Gohan and Johnson were literally rolling around on the floor, exchanging blows and trying to get a good grapple hook.

"The androids I released were incomplete and treacherous; they attempted to kill me. I deactivated them, but not before I was injured. Using my own technology, I had my computer download my personality and memories and store them within an artificial body, creating a doppelganger to carry on my work. I, meanwhile, was placed in stasis until my body was strong enough to survive the surgery to become a cyborg. Upon the completion of my surgery, I immediately set out to further my revenge, but imagine my surprise."

Gohan was now down on the ground, Johnson sitting on his chest and raining blows on him, before Gohan caught both of Johnson's hands, evading another set of finger-blasts, and pushed him back.

"Goku was already dead, though I could find no source of how or why. What was I to do then, when the target of my vengeance had moved past even my grip? In the end, I chose that his son would be the one to suffer my ire. Curse your father with your last breath boy, for he was the one who brought this upon you."

Gohan, having pushed Johnson off of him, managed to get back to his feet in time to capture Johnson as he tried to slam his shoulder into Gohan's again. Going with the movement, Gohan flipped Johnson over, slamming the large green-haired cyborg into the ground before turning back to Gero's screen.

"So, you are responsible for all of Johnson's new abilities." It wasn't a question, merely a statement of fact. "with your research on energy, thanks to the androids and nearly two decades of recordkeeping, it wouldn't be hard for you to recreate a source of energy for Johnson that works similar to the Destructo Disc; weak in signature, but capable of cutting through anything."

"If you know that, you shouldn't let me be!" Johnson shouted; his voice still strong despite his bruises and now missing teeth, as he fired another set of blasts at Gohan. With Johnson literally standing behind him, Gohan had no time to escape as the five beams all pierced through the teen's abdomen, leaving bloody paths behind.

As blood shot from the ten holes now in Gohan's body, Gohan crashed to his knees. Johnson immediately took his opportunity, pouncing on his former boss and smashing his fists into Gohan's head repeatedly.

Videl was already forcing herself to her feet, ready to rush to Gohan's defense, when she saw Sharpener slowly step forward. He was holding his leather jacket in one hand and was rummaging through it with the other. Suddenly he dropped the jacket, revealing the large, odd-looking gun he held in his other hand.

Before Videl could ask where Sharpener had gained the weapon, he leaned forward and slid it on the floor.

"Gohan!"

The gun made a straight line for the black-haired teenager, who was still getting his face beaten in by Johnson. Both fighters heard the yell, but neither reacted to it. Johnson lifted his mechanical hand and Videl could clearly see the five fingertips opening up again; Johnson was preparing to shoot Gohan through the head with the beams this time.

Just as Johnson lowered his hand to deliver the kill, Gohan's flailing hand found Sharpener's gun. Lifting it up, he tried to raise it in time to kill the man holding him down.

"Any last words, Commander?"

"Go to hell."

A loud bang echoed through the chamber, accompanied by the sizzling sound of Johnson's hand firing, as blood and brain erupted from the two warriors.

XxX

Styring watched with disgust as Gero's eyes literally began to light up at the scene before him. The boy – Gohan, Styring thought his name was – who was also the Commander had tossed a gun and both he and Johnson acted at the same time. With the angle of the camera, all Styring could see was Johnson's head suddenly exploding.

Whatever that gun was, it packed a hell of a punch; Styring had seen shotguns that didn't deal that much damage up close.

Johnson's body was reeling back form the shot, when he saw the Commander moving again. He raised his gun at Johnson's corpse and fired again. Four shots, all aimed at Johnson's torso. The impact with whatever bullets were in the weapon left little to remain of the good Captain.

The boy pushed himself up, sliding away from Johnson's corpse, and Styring saw that they had once again been unlucky; the boy, while still bleeding badly, had managed to lower his head enough to evade any critical damage. There were small streams of blood moving down his head, a close call indeed, and it looked like his ear was cut in two, but he was still alive.

"That's enough." Gero suddenly exclaimed, his eyes literally turning completely yellow. "I've had it with the failures of those biological creatures. This time, no more leaving it to chance and games."

The Commander, sitting in a pool of his own blood that was rapidly growing, looked up at the screen.

"Learn from this, brat." Gero literally sneered. Normally, the good Doctor was quite composed, though he had always made his discontent for humans obvious. "A smart man always has a backup plan. Series Three androids, DESTROY HIM!"

XxX

From various doors, some even smashing through the walls, erupting from the ground or smashing in from the ceiling, a full battalion of androids suddenly entered the room. Nineteen different androids, most with similar appearances to those of the Series Two, from the gorilla-like #1, to the hooded #11 and even the Chinese-like android #19 had been rebuilt.

"My Series three androids are the greatest machines the world has ever seen." Gero boasted over the speakers as the Commander tried to pull himself up. He was on hands and knees now, quickly being surrounded by the androids. "They have all the power that the Series Two had, but without the personality problems. They will never turn traitor, nor ignore their mission. You die now, son of Goku."

As one, all nineteen androids raised their arms or – in the case of the androids unable to use energy – prepared other weaponry. The Commander, finally managing to sit up on his knees, looked at Gero's screen defiantly.

"No, Gero, I won't." he simply stated, not even looking at the nineteen machines about to kill him. "Because a smart man always has a backup plan. Graviton, deactivate!"

With one hand, the Commander pushed on the button, which combined with his voice activated the emergency deactivation. No gentle lowering of the pressure, but instant release from five hundred times the earth's normal gravity, an instant before the androids let loose their attacks.

The same instant four massive explosions rocked the chamber as four glowing figures charged into battle.

Vegeta, being by far the strongest, was at the lead, his hair golden and aura sparkling with lightning. Before the androids could turn around, he had fired a blast in their midst, disintegrating five androids instantly and had immediately picked out the copies of androids #13, #14, #15 and #16 to drag off into battle. Of course, the proud Prince of all Saiyans would claim the strongest opponents for his own.

#18 was only a second behind, shooting a blast at the other direction, heavily damaging two more androids before her blast was absorbed by android #19.

The remaining androids, realizing they were now in full-on battle, scattered. Four of the androids shot out towards the Commander himself, while four others headed for the still injured hostages. The remaining two – androids #17 and #18 – stayed behind to fight against the original android #18.

Android #11 – still wearing his hoodie – was at the lead of charging at the hostages, fist already glowing with energy to destroy the weak biological creatures, when he was suddenly frozen in his tracks, unable to move forward. Trunks, his own hair glowing golden and his face wearing a scowl that would make Vegeta proud, held the mechanical monstrosity back with one hand, the other already in motion for a punch.

As #11 was sent flying back, interrupting the charge of the remaining androids, Trunks turned towards the hostages. His eyes immediately locked on his sister.

"Bra, who was it?" his voice was far too cold for an eight year old, definitely something he had learned from Vegeta. "Who hurt you?"

Bra didn't say anything, instead pointing towards the hooded android Trunks had just sent flying. As #11 stabilized himself in the air, Trunks was suddenly before him, both hands glowing with energy.

"No-one touches my sister, you pathetic piece of scrap-metal!" The youth yelled as he let his energy shoot forward, devouring the android instantly. Now there were only three androids remaining on his side, one of which was already heavily injured from #18's blast.

On the other side of the room, the Commander tried to get to his feet in order to take on the androids, but before they could get near Krillin appeared, forcing the androids apart with a powerful Kamehameha wave. One of the energy-absorbing androids tried to catch the beam and drains it's power, but Krillin was one step ahead. With a flip of his wrist, the Kamehameha switched directions and slammed into the android from above. Nothing remained of the android.

With Vegeta having dragged all the strongest androids to the top level and giving them a thorough trashing – the Prince seemed to be enjoying himself against the multitude of weaker enemies – and the other androids now caught between Trunks and Krillin the tide quickly turned.

A short distance away, #18 was having difficulties as she fought what looked like her own clone, only with brown hair. It was even accompanied by a clone of #17, this one with a buzz cut, of all things. Her brother would NEVER have a buzz cut. Still, the two androids proved them to be her equal in strength, though they lacked any kind of imagination while fighting. '_The downside of having robots fight,_' #18 mused, not missing the irony, '_is that they can't improvise._'

The battle, short as it was bound to be, was still extremely violent. The factory, not withstand against such explosion, was literally shaking on it's foundations and started to collapse.

As Krillin dragged his foot through #19's torso, destroying the android again, he made a quick scan of the battlefield. Between Trunks and himself, most of the androids were torn to shreds, with only one more remaining. Krillin's wife was fighting against two androids, but she seemed to be able to hold her own, while Vegeta now only had the large androids #15 and #16 remaining, though they were already heavily damaged.

"Trunks, get the hostages out of here!" Krillin yelled at the boy, charging at the last android himself. Trunks fired a small but powerful blast of energy at the machine, then nodded and disappeared. An instant later, all the hostages also vanished, being carried by Trunks to a safer location. Krillin launched a Destructo Disc at the back of the android as it tried to absorb Trunks' attack, finishing off the last android before he turned around to aid his wife.

Only then did he notice that Gohan had disappeared as well, leaving a significant blood trail behind.

XxX

'_There's one thing I have to admit,_' Styring though as he ran after his partner, '_Gero doesn't cling to a plan once it's been defeated._' As soon as the four other people – none of whom Styring recognized – had charged into the room and started destroying androids by the handful, Gero had turned around and literally flown out of the room. Fortunately Gero couldn't fly very fast, but Styring still had to run with all he had to keep up.

'_This keeps going from bad to worse._' Styring was already trying to imagine what the damage would be. No-one knew of his involvement, fortunately, so if he played his cards right he would escape without any blame. But Gero would be the only loose end…

A shockwave ran through the entire area, crash landing Gero and stunning Styring as the walls around them started to collapse. A section of the wall fell on top of Styring's leg, making him scream in pain and fear as his leg was crushed. Another section fell atop Gero, but the scientists' cybernetically enhanced body could take the damage. He burst out of the rubble, shrugging it off with little more then a minor wound just below his good eye, and looked at his partner.

He gave one brief, mocking nod towards Styring before flying off. Styring knew exactly what Gero wanted to convey in that nod. 'So you see, in the end, a cybernetic body is still superior to a weak biological one.'

"C-c-curse y-you." Styring tried to speak, but another shockwave knocked the air out of him just before a second piece of ruble crushed one of his arms. Gero flew out through the newly created hole, flying towards the horizon, just as the young Commander appeared in the doorway. He was covered in sweat and still bleeding profoundly, but when he raised the gun in his hand, there was no shaking or hesitation.

Five shots, fired so quickly in a row that the weapon almost seemed to be a fully automatic one. With his entire being focused on the intense pain shooting through his body, Styring didn't pay attention to what was happening to his now fleeing former partner.

He only snapped out of his pain-induced state when he was covered by the shadow of the Commander standing over him.

"Damn, only nicked him." The youth seemed close to cursing, but stopped himself. Instead he looked down and made eye contact with Styring, trapped beneath the rubble.

"Pl-please." Styring pleaded, tears already flowing down his cheeks, "h-h-help me."

"So, you will stand by your cause only until it fails? How predictable. A man who won't die for something is not fit to live." with that, the Commander raised the weapon he still had in his hand, pointing it directly at Styring's face, and squeezed the trigger.

With his business done, Gohan Son, the Commander of the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department, turned around and left, already busy with his next step of backup.

XxX

Despite the time of night, Yamcha didn't even let the phone ring twice before he picked it up.

"It's me." It was Gohan's voice, but devoid of emotion, focused only on his duty. "There's a situation."

"What is it?" Yamcha knew better then to try and argue with Gohan when he was like this. It wasn't even anything personal; the kid really couldn't help it and he was often right anyway.

"Gero is alive and is fleeing towards you. Intercept and eliminate him. He's flying at a low altitude, with the speed comparable to an average car, incoming from the south-east direction. He will be lightly injured from various wounds and should be recognizable."

"How'd he get injured?"

"A variety of methods, one of which was me shooting at him. Now stop asking questions and get ready to eliminate him."

With that, Gohan cut the connection. Yamcha was seriously wondering what was going on, but if Gohan had been using guns – which was the only reason why Gero would still be alive – then things really were as bad as he feared.

"I'm going to have to talk to Bulma and Chichi about this tomorrow."

Tonight, however, he would do as Gohan said and get revenge. He still remembered the gaping hole that android #20 had punched in his chest all those years ago.

True to Gohan's prediction, Gero appeared just outside of Yamcha's hometown, Star City, and he was bleeding profoundly. In fact, he seemed to be missing most of his left hand.

"Well, Gohan is quite a good shot, isn't he doc?" Yamcha laughed as he appeared before Gero, startling the older man. Apparently, Gero had been too locked in his thoughts to notice the arrival of the world's number one baseball champ.

"You?" Gero seemed to lose control for a second, then started to grin. "You are far weaker then any of the others. I can take care of you on my own, even now."

"That's what you think doc. I've been doing my pushups."

Yamcha raised both hands, releasing a blinding flash of white-blue energy, which immediately devoured Gero. After a second or two, there was a bright yellow-green flash and nothing remained of Yamcha's quarry except for his now falling left leg.

XxX

Half an hour after the impromptu rescue by Gohan's friends, Videl sat on a royal couch in the Capsule Corporation, along with Erasa and Sharpener.

Sharpener and Videl had both been given some emergency bandages along with a dose of painkillers, and had been asked to wait here. Apparently, Bulma wanted to talk to them personally.

None of the teens said anything, instead trying to think of what had been happening in the eventful day. Kidnappings, gunfights, more fights, massive explosions and more, all in one day. And that wasn't even counting the injuries they had sustained, or the sudden revelation that Gohan was capable of acting like that.

Just as Videl tried to get up and maybe start to pace the room, ignoring her still painful injuries in the process, the door opened and Bulma Briefs walked in, looking like hell.

"Please, Videl, sit back down. You're still injured." Gentle, though firm, she pushed the girl back in her seat and then sat down opposite them. "I'm certain you're surprised by everything that's happened today and what you've found out. That's why I'm here. There is something you need to know, about Gohan. Something very important."

"What is it this time?" Videl was cranky, pain and injuries always made her so but today was really taking the cake.

"Well, you saw his helmet break, so you know Gohan is the Commander. And I'll assure you, he really is the Commander. I personally promoted him to the post a little under two years ago and he has performed the job admirably ever since. However, that's not what I'm about to tell you. As you probably already know, Gohan is also Saiyaman."

Sharpener gave single nod, as if the knowledge was common, while Erasa's eyes nearly shot out of her head.

'_Since when has Sharpener known?_' Videl thought, but the pain quickly brought her attention back on track, since Bulma wasn't done talking yet.

"Well, Gohan is both the Commander and Saiyaman, but… at the same time he's not." This time, even Sharpener looked confused, looking just like Videl felt.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It's… complicated. I don't really know how to explain it… I think the best explanation is… the best way to describe it, is that Gohan… he has multiple personality disorder."

* * *

Beta Note: This chapter is all beta'd up now, less spelling errors and more awesomeness from yours truly, Kushin eX

Retcon: much thanks to all reviewers who pointed out my COLLOSEL mistake in this chapter with the final line. You are correct, there is a major difference between MPD/DPD and Schizophrenia, but while I was writing, I somehow made the huge mistake of mixing the two up. Many thanks to all who corrected me and much apologies to everyone for the mistake. It has now been fixed.

A/N to A-man and Annoymous (shame I can't PM you guys): I really liked the discussion you had going on in my reviews, never expected to see a discussion on neurophysiology on a website like FFN. Anonymous, you're right in that it is physically impossible to move at faster-then-light speed, but hey, we're working with Anime Physics here! It has been stated repeatedly in the anime and in this story that the Z-fighters can and will move at super-lightspeed.

Now A-man, about your arguments concerning Bra's power level: you are very much correct in stating that Bra should have a superhuman powerlevel, based on Vegeta's energy signature at the time of her conception and truth be told I had not given this a lot of thought. However, the inconsistency also exists within canon as Marron (the only character in the show to be born of two superhuman warriors) has no significant power at all. In this case, I will chalk it up to the power being latent and simply never having surfaced. Gohan had a high powerlevel when he was a child, but none of the Z-fighters noticed it until Raditz pointed it out with his scouter. The same applies to Bra: without a way to activate her power at least once, it becomes incredibly difficult for someone to locate that power signature. Once it's been taped into at least once, however, it becomes far easier. Bra has simply never used her energy before and until she gains a method of using it, it will be like having a powerful lamp in your house, but not having it plugged into the electricity network. If that makes any sense at all.


	57. Chapter 57

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it, I'm just using it for some fun.

A/N 1: for those of you who haven't noticed yet; I made a MAJOR mistake in the first version of the previous chapter. For clarity's sake, I'm putting the last paragraph into this chapter as well.

A/N 2: thanks to everyone for your support during my internship, I have since completed and passed and will now do my best to return to fanfiction writing as before. I appreciate everyone's support very much

* * *

"It's… complicated. I don't really know how to explain it… I think the best explanation is… the best way to describe it, is that Gohan… he has multiple personality disorder."

The words left Bulma's mouth, but none of the teens before her reacted to it; at least at first. Erasa was still stunned by the revelation that Gohan was Saiyaman, but it was Videl and Sharpener that the CEO of Capsule Corporation was curious about. They had both already known about Gohan's secret and Bulma was curious about their reaction.

They were pretty much stoned out of their mind on painkillers, though, so Bulma wasn't surprised by the slow reaction. It might not be the most ethical of circumstances to give out this kind of information, but Bulma didn't want the kids to ask too many questions. That might lead to places she didn't want the conversation to go. Gohan having a mental problem? Nasty, but true and they deserved to know it. Gohan, Vegeta and Trunks all being alien? No-one was going to find that out over her dead body.

"How'd he develop something that… severe?" Videl finally asked; a very slight slur to her words. "I mean, we never really… noticed anything about him and I thought… I thought people like that all had pretty big symptoms."

"It actually depends on the illness and severity, so it varies from person to person." Bulma answered. "With some people it becomes nearly impossible to continue living their daily lives; others have mental illnesses and notice little more of it then being a bit moody for some days."

"So, how did Gohan's show itself?"

'_Even now, she's still rather sharp. Impressive._' Bulma felt a genuine admiration for the girl in front of her, but was all the more glad she was not to her full senses. '_If she's this sharp when drugged, I'd hate to have this conversation when she's clean._'

"Well, Gohan's case was somewhat unique. I'll have to give you a short history lesson in order to explain it. What you must first know is that, despite what you may think, Gohan has lived a life that was far from easy. Gohan… has been through a life full of trauma, terror and violence, it's a miracle he isn't hurt more then he already is."

"What?" Erasa spoke up again, apparently over the shock. Videl also looked rather surprised, but Sharpener only nodded. That gave Bulma a shock. '_Does he know? How much did Gohan tell him?_'

"When Gohan was five, he was abducted by his uncle. Violently. Raditz was Goku's older brother and he was an all-round bastard. He beat Goku and Krillin up in front of Gohan then abducted him. Goku teamed up with someone else and they fought against Raditz. In the end, Gohan… he watched his uncle die and thought his father was murdered as well."

Erasa and Videl both gave shocked gasps, as Bulma had expected, but again Sharpener only nodded.

"Before we could arrive with help, Piccolo kidnapped Gohan, forcing him to train, to learn to control his vast power. He kept Gohan for almost a year, forcing him to survive in the jungle on his own, never seeing his mother or anyone else. On the days Gohan wasn't alone, Piccolo was teaching him to fight. It wasn't exactly a healthy environment, especially for a six year old child."

Even now, Sharpener gave no visible response. '_He must know then, but how much?_'

"What Gohan didn't know, however, was that Goku was still alive, if barely. He stayed comatose for nearly a year because of the beating that Raditz gave him, recovering slowly. Meanwhile, we spent as much time as we could trying to track Gohan down, but we never found him. Then, finally, one day Gohan and Piccolo just appeared from out of nowhere. That's when the real trouble started."

"Did Gohan have to fight his dad?" Erasa's voice was a whisper, but an awed one. "Did Piccolo make him fight his loved ones?"

"No, it wasn't anything that dramatic. No, another opponent – two actually – had appeared and Gohan, Piccolo and some others – all friends of Goku and me – had to join forces to fight them. Goku was on the way to help them, but before he could arrive… Gohan saw three adult warriors, men he had looked up too, each stronger and more experienced then him, die before his eyes. Each of them was a brutal murder, and Gohan had a first-row ticket to the carnage."

Erasa covered her mouth in shock now, and Videl looked troubled. Sharpener sighed, but for all the world… he looked like he had heard this story before. '_But__ did he hear this version, or the real one?_'

"When Goku arrived, he managed to turn the tables on them, but only barely. One of the men… he tried to kill Gohan, to get to Goku. Piccolo saved Gohan, but was killed in his stead, less then a meter away from Gohan. Piccolo had been Gohan's mentor, a guide, someone he had learned to look up to in replacement of his father in the year he was with him. And then, Gohan was bathed in his blood. To this day, Gohan still blames himself for that. Can you imagine that Gohan didn't really come out of that ordeal alright?"

Looking back at the three teens, Erasa had tears gathering in her eyes, shaking her head furiously. Even Videl looked more then a little sad, and very understanding. Sharpener had his eyes pointing at the table, a sad look on his face, but little else.

"Somehow, Gohan didn't show too much damage from that; I kept a very close eye on him. I was amazed at what he could do; amazed that he could recover from that." Bulma continued, "But the real problem didn't arise until some time later, when Gohan was eleven years old. Since Piccolo had been killed, Gohan had remained remarkable stable, even when he was in other battles, against other people who'd kill him. But when he was eleven, Gohan's talent had carried him into a battle that he couldn't win. His strength went to his head… and Goku died to save him."

Both girls now gasped loudly, understanding the importance of what Bulma said. Sharpener never raised his eyes from the table.

"That was the final push he needed, though Gohan's problems didn't show until some time after. We thought he was fine, he had been sad and he'd mourned but we thought he was over it. But then… well, Krillin told you what happened with Lime, hasn't he? That's when we finally knew that something was wrong with Gohan. When it was too late to get any help."

XxX

As Dende lifted his hands off of Gohan's body, his half-saiyan friend opened his eyes and slowly started to rise. Krillin, Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo and Android 18 were there as well. As Gohan sat up, Dende turned to tend to Trunks' injuries. After Gohan, his were the most severe, with #18 not far behind. Unfortunately, Dende's healing talents were of very limited use to heal the blond android; she was already sitting at a desk, employing a variation of tools to fix herself.

"Where am I?" Gohan asked, raising a hand to his head. Dende was relieved to hear his friend's normal voice again.

"Gohan, take it easy." Piccolo's calm voice drew Gohan's eyes as Dende healed the various scraps and bruises on Trunks' arms. "Do you remember what happened?"

For a second Gohan was silent, then he spoke up.

"Yes." The change in Gohan's voice made Dende and everyone else in the room turn around. "I was in the old metal plant, I chased after Doctor Gero and Styring Behersk. I killed Behersk, Gero escaped. I contacted Yamcha to eliminate Gero." This didn't sound like Gohan, not the normal Gohan. This voice was emotionless, highly controlled… this was the voice of the Commander.

"Anything after that?" Piccolo somehow didn't sound surprised at all, but the senior Namek always had a masterful poker face.

"Y-yeah, I think so." Now his voice was back to normal; warm, friendly Gohan. "I… I was bleeding and I tried to find my way back to the others."

Gohan grew silent for a moment, trying to recall more. Krillin looked like he wanted to speak up, but Vegeta silenced him with a look.

"Then Krillin found me. My thanks for that, my good man!" Another change in voice, this was something Dende had only heard once, when Gohan had come to his tower after fighting the Series Two androids. A voice full of confidence and compassion, higher and louder than Gohan's normal voice.

The voice of Saiyaman.

'What's going on?' Dende was getting worried now, nothing like this had ever happened. Gohan had always been in perfect control before…

"I… I don't know." That was the normal Gohan's voice.

"Do you realize what's going on, Gohan? Talk to me!" Piccolo stepped closer, his voice rising.

"Yes, I do. Apparently, I'm losing my ability to keep a clear barrier between my different roles." There was the Commander again. "Never had this problem before! How'd you think it happened Piccolo?" and Saiyaman again.

'_This is bad. This is really, really bad!_' Dende decided. '_Is it because he kept fighting on as his different __personas__, even after the helmets broke?_'

XxX

Bulma was still pacing the room nervously as the three teens slowly drank the steaming mugs that she had a robot bring in. Bulma was drinking a cup of coffee herself, but the teens all had tea.

"Mrs. Briefs?" Erasa's voice was soft, still shocked and scared by what Bulma had told them about Gohan. No doubt it came as a shock to the teenagers what had happened to Gohan.

"Just call me Bulma dear. What is it?"

"About Gohan, about… well about his MPD." She seemed to gather her courage to say the name, but once she had she raised her head, looking at the blue-haired woman without flinching. "How is it that Gohan's different… personalities are all so distinct? I've read about other people who had MPD but Gohan's case isn't anything like the ones I've read about. I mean, the cause does fit, but the symptoms don't really…"

"I know what you mean." Bulma's voice was sympathetic, but she just realized that Erasa was, in fact, not drugged. She hadn't been injured and so she still had her full mental capability. The question seemed to have also pulled in Videl and Sharpener. Bulma had to think fast, but fortunately, that was one of her best skills.

"Gohan doesn't show a lot of symptoms, especially in his daily live, but there are a few that manifest when he's switched between alter-egos. For the most part, they're rather hard to notice, unless you know what to look for. Gohan's main symptoms are rather unexplainable and irrational bouts of anger and mild cases of depression. So short and mild, in fact, that it may just look like he's being moody for a day."

The three teens looked at her again, giving Bulma their undivided attention, so she went on.

"Furthermore, from what I've been able to find out, it looks like Gohan's case is rather… unique. It's… hard to explain." '_Unique__ doesn't even cut it!_' Bulma thought to herself. '_We can't take him to a doctor and known medicine may have completely different effects on him because he's simply not human! But how am I going to tell them that?_'

"Is it because of his dad?" Sharpener suddenly asked as he sat his cup down on the table. Bulma's eyebrows shot up into her hair before she could compose herself. "Gohan once told me that his dad had some sort of rare genetic disease, something that only appears once in about a million cases, I think. His muscles and bones were all stronger then normal, but his immune system was weaker. Gohan said it's part of what made his dad such a good fighter."

"How do you know about that?" Videl asked; amazement obvious in her voice. She clearly hadn't heard anything of the sort before.

"He told me." Sharpener said with a shrug that was too-casual for Bulma's eyes. "Contrary to popular belief, guys do sometimes talk. Anyway, if it's genetic, it stands to reason that Gohan's also got it and it somehow affects him. Maybe this is something else that's altered by it."

"That's…" Bulma searched for the right words for a moment, surprised by just how much the kid knew, "a surprisingly good theory. But I can't really prove anything, so it's just up for grabs. Anyway, you wanted to know why so little of it showed in his daily life."

With that expert twist Bulma brought the conversation out of dangerous waters and back on somewhat safer roads.

"Well, the main reason that Gohan doesn't show a lot of problems in his daily life is because he has found some way to… focus his personas. I'm not really sure how he does it, but it works for him. As long as he wears a focus, something he can associate with an identity, Gohan can keep the different personalities separated; even have a measure of control for switching between them. That focus, for Gohan, is his helmet."

Three surprised looks greeted Bulma's face, but she didn't faze. "Like I told you, I don't really know how he does it either. Maybe it has something to do with what he sees in the mirror or something, but whenever Gohan puts on a helmet that belongs to a personality, he can switch easily. Each helmet, to Gohan, represents one of his identities. The helmets didn't create the personalities, they simply became a focus. Each of his personalities already existed, no matter how deep they were buried. The helmets just allow Gohan to bring them out."

"What'd you mean, they already existed?" Erasa asked, staring up at Bulma, looking surprised, but highly fascinated.

"Ever since the incident with Lime, there have been shards of Gohan changing, acting different for short periods of time. That was the first time he ever really lost himself to his anger and I think it… changed something. But when I made him the Commander, he got something to focus himself in. A role to play. That's when most of his negative changes disappeared. He wasn't prone to bouts of anger or depression anymore, but he was very different when he became the Commander.

"Then Saiyaman came into existence, and since then, Gohan has been far more stable. He didn't fall out the other way either, no more sudden changes of being overly cheerful or childlike. Gohan, when he wasn't wearing a helmet, was suddenly… stable. That's when I realized what had happened."

More surprised looks, but Bulma was on a role now. She had only ever shared this theory with Vegeta, but all her husband had done was listen, never commenting on it.

"Throughout his life, Gohan has had four very distinct role models; his father, Piccolo, Krillin and my husband, Vegeta. Like every young boy, Gohan wanted to be just like his father. Piccolo is – was – also an impressive personality that didn't let anything stand in the way of his goal. Krillin you've met. He's nice, easygoing, social, funny and very dedicated to his friends. Finally, there's Vegeta; he's not the nicest of people or the most social, but he's surprisingly responsible. He doesn't make excuses, but instead accepts any and all consequences of his actions, no matter what. Not to mention he is the only other person Gohan knows who's had a troubled past.

"In short, I think that Gohan projected each of those four role models into his different personalities. The Commander has the dedication and focus of Piccolo and the no-nonsense attitude and pride of Vegeta. Saiyaman is Goku's good nature and willingness to help people, combined with Krillin's easygoing and loyal traits. Instead of integrating segments of each into his own personality, like most people do when they grow up, his mind fused them together into distinct personalities, different from his own."

"Then…" It was Videl who spoke up now, looking at Bulma with worry clearly written on her face. "Who is the real Gohan? If they're all a part of him, part of what he wants to be, who's the real Gohan? I mean, the Gohan we know, is he just an act as well?"

'_She's scared._' Bulma noticed, '_of course she is! Her boyfriend might be crazy and if he's not that, there's a chance he's nothing like the boy she knows. Of course she's scared!_'

"I think," the CEO started, her voice kind and her eyes locked on Videl's, trying her best to sooth the poor girl, "that the Gohan you normally meet is most like the real Gohan. He's smart, shy and kind, something that none of his role models really are, as far as Gohan knows. Gohan also has a tendency to use his brain first, muscles second, something none of the others are really familiar with. So, that Gohan, while unchanged since he was eleven, is most likely the real one."

Videl gave a sigh of relief, her shoulder visibly dropping. Looking at his friend, Sharpener looked like he regretted something, but he still spoke up.

"That's not all, is it?" the blond boxer softly said, but everyone immediately looked at him. "There's more to Gohan then just those three distinct personalities, right? Like what happened with Lime? That wasn't a complete personality, but Gohan told me that he… he hadn't been like himself either back then."

'_This kid… he really does know everything, doesn't he? Does Gohan trust him that much?_' Bulma had to take some time to compose herself before she could respond, but after a second she finally did.

"Yes. Gohan the high-school student and scientist, the vicious and dedicated Commander of the Capsule Corporation Defensive Department and the Great Saiyaman, defender of justice, are three very distinct, developed personalities. But in between… when Gohan looses control of his emotions, when he gives in to fear, or anger, or hate… he loses control, he loses his grip on his real personality without slipping into any of the others. Phantoms, you could say, or Shades. He's acting on pure emotion then, not rational thought."

"Billy!" Videl suddenly exclaimed, slapping both her hands on her knees. "That's what happened in the mall, remember Erasa! When Billy suddenly arrived and he and his friends held us at gunpoint. Gohan walked in and he just went berserk on them! I guess that's what happens when Gohan gives in to his pure anger, huh?"

"It's possible." Bulma sat down before the trio, set down her own cup and looked at all three of them, one at a time. "But listen up, there's one more thing. I don't know how much Gohan knows about his own condition. He's never mentioned it and we never brought it up with him. After this, I'm going to see what I can do for Gohan, but until you hear from me or Gohan brings it up himself… could you please not say anything about what I told you today?"

XxX

Gohan was already out of bed, wearing nothing but his jeans, and pacing the room when Yamcha entered. As soon as the scared human entered, Gohan turned to the older man.

"And?"

"I got him; it was just like you said." Yamcha said as he sat down in a chair. "He arrived about twenty minutes after you called me. When he saw me, he was about ready to crap his pants!"

"Skip the details, did you eliminate him?" Gohan heard the icy tone in his own voice, but did nothing about it.

"Yeah, yeah, I got him. He tried to attack me, but before he got anywhere near me I blasted him to Other World. There was nothing left of him except an arm."

"Oh, wow, that's great. So, we're finally done with him now?" Yamcha looked surprised at the sudden change of tone and Gohan also felt some surprise, but he controlled himself.

"Yeah, but there was one thing…" Yamcha started. Gohan, who had raised a glass of water to his lips, set it back and turned around. "When I blasted Gero, he was… covered in some sort of green aura. It was weird."

"A green aura?" Now Gohan's voice was back to normal, but he himself didn't hear it, thinking instead. "Odd, Green is not a natural color for a human's energy aura, and from what we've seen so far, it doesn't occur with androids either. Gero is a cyborg, so that might be a little different, but I've not seen Johnson or any of his associates covered with a green aura. Something odd is going on."

"Relax, Gohan." Yamcha interrupted, "I told you, Gero is dead. There was a strange color, but it's no biggy. I'm telling you, the freak is dead."

"We don't know that!" again, Gohan's voice was cold and focused, "For all we know… Gero might be hanging out somewhere else; he could have used something like instant transmission to barely escape your attack." This time Gohan's voice changed mid-sentence, shocking everyone, including Gohan.

"What is- AAARGH!" before he could voice his question, Gohan's world exploded in blinding, all-consuming pain.

XxX

"Look, I know that with everything I told you, you guys have a lot to take in." Bulma said, her sympathy obvious in her voice, "I've contacted the police and informed them that you're here. They'll come pick you up in an hour or so. You can stay here, if you need anything, just let me know. I'll leave you guys be for no-"

"MOM!" Trunks yelled as he rushed straight through the door, leaving a decent-sized hole in his wake. "Mom, come quick, you've gotta hurry! Come on!"

"Trunks, calm down! What's wrong?"

"Mom, it's Gohan!" immediately four sets of eyes were focused on Trunks, but he didn't even notice the teens. "Something's wrong with him mom! He keeps yelling and yelling and he's holding his head and I think something bad's going to happen to him! Come on, you've got to come!"

Bulma didn't miss the near tears in her son's eyes and dashed after him as fast as she could. From the sounds coming from behind her, Bulma knew that the three teenagers were hot on her heels.

'_Crap! They'll see Dende and Piccolo in there! I've got to do something!_' before she could even try to slow them down, however, Trunks sped across a corner, forcing Bulma to keep running instead of turning around to face the teens.

As soon as they entered the room, Bulma knew that something really bad was going on. Gohan was lying on the floor, his mouth opened in a soundless scream as he clutched his head with both hands. Bulma couldn't get further in then the door, however, before she was pushed back by the sheer energy that Gohan was releasing. It didn't just affect her either, Piccolo, Dende, Yamcha and Krillin were all barely holding their ground, digging in their heels to stand against the energy Gohan released.

Vegeta appeared right behind Gohan and made a painful looking chop at Gohan's neck. The wind of energy immediately disappeared as Gohan passed out. Without the pressure pushing them back, everyone in the room stumbled forward, but only Bulma actually fell to the ground. The three teens landed right on top of her.

"What was that!" Erasa exclaimed, now sounding spooked out of her mind. "What just happened?"

"Gohan's energy went crazy." Videl said as she helped her friend to her feet, earning surprised looks from everyone else in the room. "He was releasing it around him, pushing everything back at once. Don't look so spooked, it's not magic or anything like it. I can do it too, just… not as powerful."

That got a snort out of Vegeta, causing Videl to glare in his direction, but a moment later the teenager's eyes drifted back to her boyfriend. Then, her eyes suddenly went wide.

"What happened to him?" Videl demanded to know of the others. "With his injuries, I mean! When he fought Johnson, Gohan got a lot of injuries, but they're… gone now. What'd you do to him?"

"I healed him." As soon as Dende spoke up, Bulma wanted to slap someone. The trio of teenagers immediately turned around to face Dende and, when they saw the Guardian of the Earth, responded exactly like Bulma would have expected when teenagers met a large green alien.

Erasa and Videl screamed, Erasa looking about ready to faint, while Videl dropped into a fighting stance as she backed off. Sharpener's eyes widened for a second, but then he managed to collect himself again. He had definitely at least heard a description of a Namek before, or he would have freaked out.

"Please, don't be scared, I don't hurt anyone. In fact, I actually heal people." Dende raised his hands and sounded apologetic. Seeing the complete lack of reaction from everyone else in the room, the two girls managed to calm themselves down. "My name is Dende and, as you can see, I'm not exactly a normal human. I do, however, possess a rather useful healing ability. I've healed the injuries of Gohan and everyone else who was involved in the fight. If you want, I can also heal yours."

The two girls looked highly suspicious, but Sharpener didn't even take time to worry. He stepped forward eagerly.

"Thanks pal. You're a lifesaver if you can get me fixed up." He smiled at Dende, who readily returned the smile while he healed the tall human. The two girls looked with open amazement as they saw their friend suddenly glow and his injuries disappear before their eyes. When Dende had finished his healing, Sharpener stretched out and proceeded to rip the bandages off. Not a single bruise, cut or scar had remained from the brutal beat down he had received in the factory.

When they saw the injury-free Sharpener, the other girls seemed to get over their reluctance and several minutes later, they too were free of injuries and bandages, both thanking Dende again and again.

"I'm guessing there's a lot I haven't been told yet, right?" Videl asked as she turned around and observed the room. "And normally, I'd love to interrogate everyone here about everything that's going on," Vegeta gave another snort at the suggestion, but Videl ignored him, "but I'm really tired right now and I think I've had enough new things dumped on me. Just tell me one more thing; how did you guys arrive when you did?"

The last question was directed at Krillin and the small human leaned against the bed as he explained.

"Well, that was actually a part of Gohan's – The Commander's, I think you might say – plan." He started, "He would go in and disable their communications and outside tracking around the area, then give us a signal to move in. the signal he'd give was raising his energy level so we'd notice. As soon as Gohan released his energy, we'd storm in and get everyone out."

"So, that's why he wore the Graviton?" Sharpener didn't so much ask as made a statement, but Krillin still nodded.

"Yeah, he did. We all disagreed with him, because it's still a dangerous device, but he insisted. Nothing could risk his plan going haywire, not even if it meant that Gohan could risk a heart attack. He was that focused. We all thought he was being stupid, that he could just suppress his energy himself, but he insisted on the machine. He claimed it was the only way to reliably keep his energy level down."

XxX

'_Where am I?_' Gero thought as his eyes slowly opened. It was dark everywhere, no light at all, making it impossible for him to determine his surroundings. Raising his head, Gero discovered that he had some space around him. With a mental command, his eyes changed to night vision, but there was no improvement. There was no light whatsoever in this room.

'_Is this death, then? Did I finally succumb to the ultimate of biological weaknesses, despite all my efforts?_'

He tried to raise his hand, to use other senses to feel around the room, but there was nothing there. Nor on his other hand. He couldn't even find his feet.

'_What? What has happened to me?_' none of his usual sensors were working, no matter what Gero tried. Not even his human senses could notice anything. He couldn't feel his hands, or his feet, nor his legs or arms. In fact… he couldn't even feel his shoulders.

Suddenly light flooded the chamber as something overhead opened.

"Ah, I see you have awakened at last!" the voice was… odd. One Gero had never heard before, a voice completely unknown to him. A very high and scratchy voice. Looking around, Gero found he could still move his head, until he looked upon two shadowy figures. One was tall, very tall, and appeared to be wearing a cape of sorts. The other figure was the one who had spoken. He barely reached up to the tall figure's knee, but seemed to be the one in charge.

"I have to thank you, my friend." The small figure said as he floated closer. "It seems that my old data had been severely outdated and, thanks to your efforts, I now have a much clearer image of what this planet is capable of. And it seems that, for my plans, I will be in need of such exceptional people as yourself. But as you are now, you're rather useless."

With the light, Gero had a chance to look around. There was nothing remaining of his body, only his head and some small parts of his chest. Memories returned to Gero. Yamcha had destroyed him, or at least tried too. Before he had been completely disintegrated, something had happened to him.

"Well, let's make you a bit more useful, shall we?" The small figure announced, waving his hand around. Immediately the room was filled with light, allowing Gero to see the massive room and everything within it.

Alien bodyparts, ranging from heads, to claws, to tentacles to things Gero had never even seen were floating around the room. The two figures were also clearly visible and neither of them was human. The small figure started waving both of his hands around and, as if controlled by some unseen force, body parts from around the room floated to the table Gero was lying on. Before his eyes, the various parts mixed together, connecting and fusing into a whole, until an alien body was floating above Gero, missing only it's head.

As if on cue, Gero's head floated up, the remains of his body matching perfectly into the alien mix-and-match body. Horror and rage consumed Gero, far outweighing the pain as the nerves connected with his brain, giving him full control of the new body.

Once again, after years of suffering and preparations, Gero had become that which he hated the most.

Against his will, Gero had become a full biological again.

XxX

The blinding pain was gone as Gohan woke up, thankfully, but he could still feel something coming up, feeling as though it was only suppressed.

'_Painkillers_,' Gohan concluded, '_Someone must have given me a dosage of painkillers._'

Opening his eyes required little effort, but before he could do more then exhale, he was jumped by four different forms, each grabbing on to him and nearly crushing him.

Gohan looked around, forgetting about his pain as he looked into the relieved faces of Goten, Trunks, Marron and Bra, each looking as if their birthday had come around already when they saw him.

Bulma, Krillin and his mother were also in the room and from the look on his mother's face, she too wanted to jump the bed and hold her son.

"How long was I out?" Gohan asked, freeing one arm from the kids on his bed, he raised it and rubbed the back of his neck. There was a significant bruise there, so Dende hadn't healed him.

"Nearly two days." Bulma smiled at him, relief clear in her voice. "I was getting worried that Vegeta might have hit you too hard, but he did still have his perfect control. I should have known. How are you feeling kid?"

'_Pathetic._' Gohan thought, but he answered something else. "Hungry. Hey Trunks, Marron, Bra and Goten, think you guys can go and get me something to eat?"

The four kids' faces light up like a Christmas light as they all nodded furiously, before turning around and dashing out of the room. Chichi stared after them with a sigh.

"I'll go see they don't get into any trouble." She finally said, sounding both amused and reluctant. Turning back to Gohan, she gave him a very relieved smile. "I'm glad you're alright Gohan, I was really scared when you didn't wake up. I love you."

Turning around, Chichi ran out of the room, following the four kids to the kitchen. Gohan felt a wave of slight embarrassment as his mother spoke, but turned towards Bulma and Krillin, fear and worry replacing anything else in his head. Apparently, it showed on his face, because Bulma and Krillin both looked troubled and worried as he spoke up.

"What's wrong with me?"

* * *

Beta Note: Beta'd by Kushin eX, now we just gotta see what Lucifer decides is the new appearance of Gero!

also, everyone who reads or watches Naruto; be sure to check out Kushin eX's new story, a Naruto fanfiction, displaying a rather unique take on the relationship between Naruto and Jiraiya, you can find it on his profile page, under the name of 'Another Meeting'. it has both excellent character development and great action scenes. a recommended read for everyone who enjoys Naruto!

As always, please leave a review to tell me what you think.


	58. Chapter 58

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

"So, basically, I am psychologically disturbed?" Gohan's voice was level – not as emotionless and cold as the Commander's, but accepting of his fate. "I guess… with my life it was inevitable. How long have you known?"

Krillin and Bulma were both standing near Gohan's bed, but neither looked very comfortable.

"Well… I've considered the possibility since your fight with Cell." Krillin admitted finally, his hand moving through his hair as a distraction. "The sudden switch as you transformed into a second level Super Saiyan… it was just too strange. But I thought you had gotten over it and were just drunk on power for a moment because soon after you were back to normal. But then… when everything with Lime happened, my suspicions returned in full force."

"I've been worried about it since you were first kidnapped." Bulma softly admitted, her eyes focused on the ceiling to avoid looking at anyone. "But you always bounced right back, like nothing ever happened. But when you killed all those men who had assaulted Lime, I knew something was wrong. And it was just last year, when I made you the Commander, that I discovered just how much you changed afterwards. And when Saiyaman appeared, my theory solidified."

"And do you have any idea why I'm suddenly so unstable?" Gohan continued, still lying in his bed, his eyes switching between his godfather and godmother. "I've never had problems with keeping my different roles – personalities, if you're right – apart, but suddenly I can't."

"I don't know, Gohan." Bulma admitted again. "I hate not knowing something, but I just don't. I'm no medic, no matter how hard I try, but even if I was I don't think I'd be able to help you. Most mental problems go hand-in-hand with some chemical or physical disturbance of the brain and the central nervous system. That's how drugs handle those problems; fix the chemical imbalance and you subdue the problem. But you're not human, I have no idea how your brain works and if our medicine would affect you. I don't even know how the hell you managed to keep your personalities so separated, as far as I know that doesn't happen with MPD."

"Maybe…" Gohan started, his voice less accepting – it was now the familiar theorizing voice that Gohan had always used when he was at work in the R&D department. "Maybe it's because the helmets broke, but I kept up the persona?"

Both Krillin and Bulma looked at him with some surprise, but Gohan didn't stop his current line of thought.

"The helmets were my way of keeping the personas separate, like a barrier between them. But now the barrier has been broken, so there's nothing holding them back. So, I get bits and pieces of each mixed in with my normal behavior. If my physiology and psychology are really different from a human's, it's not impossible."

"Yeah, I suppose." Krillin started, "but that doesn't explain why it only happened now. I mean, you broke Saiyaman's mask months ago, when you fought the Series Two androids, but nothing happened then. But now that you've broken the Commander's mask, suddenly you can't keep them apart?"

"It's possible…" Bulma was now muttering to herself as she moved across the room deep in thought, one hand placed at her chin. "How's this for a theory? When your Saiyaman mask broke, you reverted back to your original personality, didn't you? Then, instead of fighting on as yourself while pretending to be Saiyaman, you transformed into a Super Saiyan and continued the fight. Maybe that's the difference!"

Both males looked surprised at Bulma, but the genius mom didn't let that stop her.

"Instead of taking on the personality in your normal appearance, you gave it a new, temporary mask. You turned your Super form into the new Saiyaman! To keep up your barrier analogy; the barrier was broken, but you quickly studded it. That's why nothing serious happened afterwards. There were only minor effects. With the Commander's helmet, you had no such protection, so the barrier disappeared. And, if I look back at it now, these last few months have seen some changes in the normal Gohan as well."

"Such as?" Gohan hadn't noticed any changes himself, but Bulma's idea did have some merit.

"Well, you were more confidant, you were more social and most of all… since the fight with the androids you've been more open and loyal with your friends. I mean, since the fight you got a girlfriend, got a best friend – who apparently knows the complete truth about you! –And you were very protective of them as well. Traits mostly associated with Saiyaman, not the normal you. It's been happening these last few months, just far more subtle."

XxX

The limo's windows were all tinted, preventing the people on the street from seeing that Hercule, champion and Savior of the World, was riding right past them. Videl was seated next to her father, while Erasa and Sharpener both sat on the other couch, facing the Satan duo.

Upon receiving the phone call from Bulma, Hercule had immediately rushed out with the black limo, the only one that allowed him to travel with any measure of speed, as opposed to being swarm by hordes of fans who saw him driving by. When Hercule had arrived, he had immediately grabbed his daughter and pulled her into a bear hug, with Erasa and Sharpener each getting one of the Champ's crushing hugs soon after.

After he had repeatedly stated how relieved he was that they had been alright – Sharpener quickly told them that, while they were hostages, they hadn't been hurt beyond not being allowed to use the bathroom – he nearly pushed them into the car.

Now, Videl was sitting next to her father, and she kept her eyes on Sharpener. There was something he was keeping from her, most likely about Gohan. He hadn't been surprised by anything that Bulma had told them about Gohan's past, so he must have already known it. When Dende and that other green man had appeared, he hadn't freaked out either. Yet, he had given her father a quick excuse that avoided anyone having to explain the existence of a magical green Martian – there was no way the guy was human!

So, unless Videl wanted to call out Sharpener as a liar and enter into a dangerous area she really didn't want to discuss, she couldn't ask about Sharpener's knowledge of Gohan's past yet. But there was one thing she could ask, another question that had been burning at the back of her mind for most of the evening.

"Sharpener." The blonde's eyes shot up at the mention of his name, but he didn't look like he was even close to dozing off. If anything, he had been contemplating how to explain something. Maybe he was considering how to help Gohan cover up his future mishaps?

"Yeah?"

"Tell me something. How did you get that gun you gave…the Commander…at the factory?" For a second she was about to say Gohan, but the official story was that the CCDD managed to infiltrate the facility after Videl had entered it alone and pulled them all out. "And before that, where did you learn to use a rifle?"

Hercule would have to hear an abridged and mostly faulty version of the story later on, especially since she couldn't reveal the existence of the Super Warriors – as Videl liked to call them – to him without making him lose all credibility.

To her surprise, however, Sharpener turned to look at Hercule. For his part, Videl's father returned the look, glancing at Videl and Erasa both, before he solemnly nodded.

'_Dad is involved? How?_'

"When we got back from Gohan's place," Sharpener started, "I came home from my evening run two days later, and one of my housemates told me that I had a guest. When I walked into my room, I found my dad there, sitting on one of the chairs. There was another guest as well… let me finish before you interrupt, ok?"

**/****flashback/ the day after returning home from Gohan's house/ Sharpener's apartment/**

"Alright dad, talk." Sharpener said as he drained his bottle of water. He was still very hot from his run and sweat continued to trickle down his back, but he was paying attention. The figure sitting on his loveseat pulled down the hood of his cloak.

Sharpener was mildly surprised to find Hercule in his apartment, who had apparently taken some effort to remain unnoticed. It wasn't the first time he'd been around – Hercule had actually helped Sharpener move some of the heavier furniture in, in person. But for the champ to travel without revealing who he was… normally he was a sucker for publicity.

"I know that you and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things," Parer started as he looked at his son, "but I ask that you hear us out before you react."

Sharpener nodded, his eyes quickly moving over to the champ. Hercule looked slightly nervous and, as he spoke, stood up from the loveseat, instead of moving around the room.

'_He's nervous._' Sharpener realized.

"What I'm about to ask you is to be kept from Videl, regardless of your agreement or not." The champ started. "She'll never forgive me if she learned of what I'm about to do."

Again, Sharpener nodded, signaling the champ to continue.

"My daughter is involved in dangerous circles, as you know." The muscular man continued, "And I worry about her daily. I've given her the best I can, provided all the best training in the world so she has the best odds of survival she can possible have. And for a while now, everything went much better than I could have hoped."

That was certainly true. Videl had been fighting crime for almost two years now, crime had dropped quite a bit, thanks to her, and she had never been seriously injured in that duration.

"However, it seems that things have gotten much worse, far above her head. You know, of course, what I'm referring to. The hostage taking earlier this year and then the Android Attack. Both highly dangerous events that have cost people their lives. Those were no low-life, undisciplined crooks. In both cases, we were dealing with highly trained and dangerous individuals. Each of them was more dangerous than anything Videl had ever experienced."

"Yeah, that I noticed." Sharpener mentioned, thinking back on the more-than-problematic year. "And Videl is always smack dup in the middle of the problems."

"Exactly." Hercule agreed. "My girl is brave, and I'm proud of that. But she sometimes let her power go to her head. There are limits to martial arts, regardless of what some people may think. But Videl tends to disregard that and jump into the middle of the danger in hopes of solving it on her own, or at least protect others from getting hurt. You can understand that I'm worried to death over her, especially in those situations. But I can't stop her from doing that unless I tie her down in her room and never let her out."

The champ gave a deep sigh as he sat down on the loveseat again, his eyes now focusing on Sharpener's.

"That's why I'm here. It's been made very clear to me by both events that I won't always be around to protect my girl. In both instances I was half the world away because of my work, so I can't be there to help her. But there is someone else who's always by her side, who I know to be a responsible man with courage, who'll help and protect his friends: you."

Sharpener was at a loss for words; Hercule was not very forthcoming with praise, beyond the occasional 'good job' to his students. Instead he looked at his father who nodded.

"He's right, Sharpener," Parer spoke softly, "You and I don't agree, but there is no denying that you are a good man who cares for his friends. And you are brave, or you wouldn't have jumped in to fight that one android, even after you saw it defeat Videl."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, really." Sharpener said, switching between looking at the two male figureheads in his life, "But how can I defend Videl against something or someone who can defeat her? She's stronger than me in just about every aspect of fighting there is. I can watch her back, but not much more."

"I know that. Videl is at the peak level of physical performance, and she has a natural talent few can match. And even if she is overwhelmed, we have that freak show of a Saiyaman flying around and helping out." Hercule's voice had what Sharpener could only describe as grudging respect as he mentioned the caped Superhero.

"But, just like how I'm not always there, the Saiyaman can be absent as well. He wasn't there when your school was held hostage; you were. He wasn't in time to protect my girl when she was being attacked by androids; you bought that time. And I'm not asking you to fight opponents that defeat her. I'm not asking you to defend her life with your own."

Again the champ stood up, but this time he picked up a suitcase he had placed next to the loveseat and set it on the table.

"I want you to have something that Videl will never use. Something she'll never accept as help." He opened the suitcase and spun it around, showing Sharpener the contents.

A single handgun of a model Sharpener had never seen before sat in the case. It was all white and without any markings to indicate its brand or creator. Four full clips neighbored it in the case, each with different markings on the side and with different bullets placed in it.

"Videl detests guns because they don't match a warrior." Hercule stated, "But there is no denying that they are powerful and have their uses. Humans have limits, and in order to overcome them we create tools. Guns are such a tool. They're instruments of death, but still just tools."

Sharpener looked at the weapon, mesmerized by it, but quickly turned back at Hercule.

"I think I understand, but I don't think it'll work." The champ looked surprised, but Sharpener quickly continued, "I don't know anything about guns. I know you pull the trigger, but nothing more. I don't know how to use something like this, let alone protect Videl and Erasa with it."

Gohan didn't need his protection, Sharpener knew. But there was no need to mention that to his father and Hercule.

"I know that." Hercule smiled. He realized that Sharpener hadn't declined but said that he wasn't ready. "Use the phone included in the briefcase and you will have anything you need."

Looking back in the suitcase, Sharpener saw that there was, indeed, a cell phone included as well, tucked into the corner.

"I've arranged for a personal trainer in usage of guns. How to keep it clean and whatnot. That's on speed dial "one," speed dial "two" is for additional ammo, and "three" is for fixing the damaged weapon. The gun itself is custom made. Completely unique. It's a handgun, so it's easy to hide on your person, but it has firepower similar to a long-range rifle. However, the recoil has been reduced to an absolute minimum, so you can still fire it without destroying your arm."

"How's that even possible?" Sharpener questioned, as he picked up the weapon from the box. It felt strange, holding that weapon, but it was not too light or too heavy.

"I don't know the specifics. The less I know about it, the better. All I know is that when I move around enough money, I get the best created. You don't want to know the price tag of what you're holding. But let me give you a basic rundown; the gun is unique. There's no way the bullets can be traced back to you. The gun leaves little to no marks on the shells and is capable of firing different types of bullets. I've provided you with an example of each kind."

Hercule pointed out each magazine and explained them one at a time.

"The first are normal bullets. Nothing special, but easy to use and get. The second type are explosive rounds; upon impact, they will explode, destroying an area of around fifteen centimeters around the target. Very dangerous, but they'll be useful in case you encounter something like those androids again."

Sharpener nodded, looking at the other two and noticed that they looked somewhat different.

"These are Diamond-tipped armor piercing rounds. They will go straight through any substance known to man. You fire one of these, they won't stop till they run out of speed. And the last are the most dangerous of all; diamond tipped explosive rounds. Those will pierce through whatever you want to hit and after they've penetrated the target, they explode."

Sharpener gave out a low whistle. He didn't even want to consider just how expensive bullets with diamond for tips would be. He also wondered if there was a cheaper solution, but like Hercule he knew almost nothing of guns and bullets.

"How will I keep this from Videl? I imagine she might get a little suspicious if I walk into the school with a gun holster under my arm, or a gun tucked into my jeans."

"That's where I come in." Parer explained, handing a leather jacket over to his son. "I've also pulled some strings. This jacket is custom-made for you. There are hidden segments that are nearly impossible to find. You can store the gun and four clips in there, and no-one will ever know. The jacket is radiation-protected, so you can take the gun anywhere. Even through metal-detectors."

"Very impressive."

"So, Sharpener, allow me to ask you," Hercule said as he walked over to the boy, "Will you bare the responsibility of protecting my daughter and Erasa with these tools I will give you, without telling them, unless I give you permission? Do I have your word?"

Placing the gun back into the suitcase, Sharpener nodded at the champion.

"You do."

**/ end of flashback /**

XxX

-beep beep- - beep beep-

As the machine signaled the end of the test, Gohan pulled the transparent helmet off his head. It was already nearly evening, and Gohan had spent the better part of the day going through one test or another under Bulma's guidance. The most recent test involved a machine that measured his brain activity. With the various machines, Bulma and Gohan hoped to find some sort of answer as to what was going on inside Gohan's head.

So far, they haven't had any luck.

Bulma re-entered the room from the control boot and looked at her godson.

"Gohan, again the measures are too different from what I expected to be able to draw any sort of conclusion. Same as we've been having all day. I can't make heads or tails off of what we found. I still think our best bet is to call in a real doctor and have him examine you. He might find something we don't."

"No." Gohan remained adamant about that. "These readings show that my inner workings are too different from a human's for a doctor to be of help. And who's to say that he won't go running to the press right away once he hears that he'll be treating an alien?"

"He is held by an oath of silence. He can't discuss any of his patients with anyone without your permission." Bulma countered. Her fatigue became obvious. This was completely different from her normal work with mechanics. She preferred working with machines. If she miscalculated there, she only ruined her work. If she made a mistake here, she could kill her godson.

"And what if, Miss Briefs, he decides that his oath will not hold because I'm not human? He is, after all, also oath-bound to serve science and the truth. He could possibly, even throw caution to the wind…with one uttered word, he can become as famous and wealthy as Hercule. The man who revealed the aliens on earth. I can't risk something like that."

Bulma sighed again as Gohan switched personalities to the dominating Commander. The switching came without warning, but at least it wasn't mid-sentence anymore.

"But I can't help you anymore," Bulma admitted with defeat, "I'm a mechanic, I work with metal and computers. But I don't know anything about the human body. Let alone a saiyan body."

"That's it!" Gohan shouted as he shot out of the bed he was lying on, now apparently dominated by Saiyaman. "There is no doctor on earth who can save me, because they don't know anything about Saiyans. So, I should go to the source of all Saiyan knowledge on earth. Bulma, I'm going to go meet with Vegeta."

And without another word, Saiyaman-dominated Gohan shot out of the room, moving faster than any eye could keep track of. He was in front of the Gravity chamber within moments, waiting for the door to open.

Vegeta looked annoyed but not surprised when the gravity disappeared, and Gohan entered the room. The prince was covered in sweat, but when Gohan entered, the prince gave a nod and waited for the boy to speak.

"Vegeta, I need your help." Gohan started, "or at least, your advice. You know about what's wrong with me, don't you? Well, I wanted to ask, how do you avoid any problems? I mean, my life is sunshine and daisies compared to yours, but you don't have any serious problems. How is that? Is there something about the Saiyan psyche that I don't know about?"

"There is a major difference between you and me boy." The prince started, apparently not surprised by the question at all. Perhaps he had been preparing for this conversation ever since his wife first mentioned her worries about Gohan's psyche. "I didn't have any sort of emotional attachment to the deaths and destruction I've seen throughout my life, so I had little problems distancing myself from it. You lacked the ability to do so because you've pulled most sort of traumas directly to yourself."

Gohan nodded, there was a point to what Vegeta said, but it wasn't what he had hoped to hear.

"But there are differences between a human's mind and a Saiyan's. As you know, our people were proud warriors, who lived and breathed for nothing but the next battle. As such, our entire culture was based around combat and our bodies and minds were vastly attuned to it. Our people, as a whole, committed great atrocities without guilt, because we were always in battle or preparing for it."

Gohan nodded again. He had never considered that Saiyan's minds would also be adjusted to combat.

"Perhaps that's the difference. For years now, you have had no desire to train, or focus on battle. Since you have lost your need to fight, your problems have increased. If your return to training, regain your battle spirit and attuning your body and mind once again, your problems may also disappear. It's the Saiyan way; battles keep us strong and healthy."

"Well, I guess it's worth a try." Gohan admitted. He was, after all, part Saiyan. And if human methods wouldn't take on him, perhaps the Saiyan's method would. And if it failed, he still wouldn't lose anything but some time. Vegeta seemed to grin in Gohan's direction before he turned around, showing the boy his back.

"Good. I expect you here every day before and after you go to your stupid school so that we can train together."

XxX

The following day, Sharpener was nearly pounced by all his fellow trainees as he walked into the gym. His friends all seemed to want to touch him, hug him or simply clasp hands with him to make sure he was real. The coach appeared a moment or so later, wondering what the commotion was, and he immediately started scowling when he saw Sharpener.

"What are you doing here, boy?" He barked at his star fighter.

"Training, I've got a championship match in two weeks, remember?" Sharpener gave the coach his most confident grin as he sat down on a bench, placing his bag next to him. "Can't go lax now that I'm so close."

"You were taken hostage this weekend. and I hear that the rescue had been violent. Shouldn't you take a day or so to rest, you idiot?" the coach's voice was full of worry and Sharpener was thankful for it; the old man cared more for the health of his athletes than their records.

"The rescue was kinda violent, but I wasn't hurt in it. The CCDD did their job well, and I got out without a single injury, as you can see. So there's no reason not to train. I need to prepare for the match."

"I am truly impressed, Mister Pencil." Another voice sounded from the door opening, drawing the attention from everyone in the gym. The man's large frame took up almost the entire doorframe, casting a long shadow into the gym. Everyone fell silent as they watched the National champion, a living boxing legend of Japan, enter their gym.

Looking around, Risusagi Kuma gave an approving look around the room before turning to the large group centered around Sharpener.

"This degree of dedication is rare to see." The champion continued, moving closer. "I had come here to meet with your coach and discuss something, but since you're here, I might as well involve you. Can we talk somewhere more… private?"

Everyone seemed stunned that such a celebrity would come over and meet with one of them.

"Of course, sir, of course." The coach stumbled over his own words, something he normally never did. "We can talk in my office. This way please."

Sharpener stood up again, leaving his bag where it was, and followed the coach. Kuma was only a step behind the blond, smiling at the selection of boxers gathered around.

"And the rest of you!" the coach barked at them as he opened the door to his office, "Get back to work!"

Once they were in the office, the coach offered Kuma and Sharpener a seat each, which both took. They both refused a drink - water, tea or coffee – that the coach offered them though.

"Well, I'll come straight to the point." Kuma said, looking at the coach and Sharpener both. "I, too, have heard about what has happened this weekend, and that's why I'm here. It's very unfortunate that this had happened so close to the match."

Now he turned his attention fully to Sharpener with a serious look on his face.

"I understand that it was an unpleasant affair, and I won't ask you to tell me anything about it. But know that if you were to call in sick now, either from injuries from the match or… other problems… you will lose the match by forfeiting. Not to mention that the public will not be pleased with you and possibly consider you a coward. It would ruin your career as a boxer."

"And you came here to make sure I wouldn't walk away from the fight?" A hint of anger touched Sharpener's voice, but Kuma raised his hand to silence the teen.

"Nothing of the sort." The champion replied solemnly. "I want you to be in the best possible condition for our fight, or there will be no meaning to it. If you are injured or need more time to recover, I will fully understand. I have a relative who once went through a traumatic experience, and it took her nearly two months of intensive therapy before she was functioning normally again.

"I'm here to offer you that chance, should you need it. If you, as the challenger, call in sick, you will be known as a coward. If I, as the champion, call in sick, the match will be delayed. From what I can see, we should all be thankful that you don't have any physical injuries. But if you're in need of time to recover from what happened that weekend, just give me the word.

"I will make an announcement that I have been injured while training and have the match delayed until you are fit to fight again. If you want, I can even give you a contact to a very respected and most of all discreet facility where they can help you with any and all problems."

The office was silent for a long time as both Sharpener and the coach processed what the champ had offered; a way to delay the fight without tarnishing their reputation.

"Why would you do this?" Sharpener finally asked, eyes on the champion. Kuma returned his stare, a sparkle in his eyes.

"Simple. You're the first opponent I've had in years that was born here and makes my blood boil in anticipation of our fight. I want you at your absolute best so that when we clash, we will both enter and leave without regrets. I want to fight you at your best. Is that so strange?"

"Not at all." Sharpener stood up, extending his hand to the champion. "I'm honored by your visit and thank you for the offer, but I assure you I will be ready for our fight in time."

"I should hope so." Now Kuma's face broke into a devilish grin. It looked almost predatory. "Because I certainly will. I look forward to meeting you in the ring, youngster."

XXXxxxXXXxxx

Much thanks to Clandestine, who went over this chapter instead of Kushin eX, who was a bit busy this month. As always, please leave a review telling me what you think of the story.

And to Tameku; you asked how it is that Krillin defeated the Commander, if Gohan is the Commander.

To answer your question; if you read back to that chapter (waaaaay back in chapter 25) you'll see that Krillin refers to his fighting the _previous _Commander, the one before Gohan. That's how it's possible.

Hope that answers your question.


	59. Chapter 59

Disclaimer: don't own nothing, so don't sue. Just borrowing for some fun.

XXXXxxxXXXXxxx

Gohan had trouble swallowing as he stood at the entrance gate to Orange Star High. He had stretched it out as long as possible, but he couldn't escape it; he would have to return to school and face his friends. The thought scared him more than fighting Cell had. Chichi had called Gohan in sick, allowing him to stay away for three days, but Gohan knew he couldn't avoid this.

Taking a deep breath, Gohan stepped forward, determined to just get it over with. He found Videl, Sharpener and Erasa all sitting near their usual tree, enjoying some last rays of sunshine before school started. Erasa was the first to see him and her reaction almost made him wince.

She looked scared – or maybe worried – as she mumbled his name, then realized it and smiled at him instead, waving him over. But the smile was nowhere near as big as it normally would be. Videl was much better at hiding her first reaction, but she hadn't been facing him. It pained Gohan to think what his girlfriend would think of him now.

When Gohan sat down, Sharpener was the only one who lazily raised an arm to wave at him, not acting any different from normal. But then, Gohan knew, Sharpener was probably the greatest actor of the four of them and he had an amazing level of self-control.

Gohan remained standing, struggling with his words but unable to say the words. Neither Sharpener nor Videl said anything, but neither was looking straight at him either. Videl's eyes were locked on the grass, like it was the most interesting thing ever, while Sharpener kept his eyes pointed at the sky as casual as ever. But normally, Sharpener would turn to look at Gohan and ask him how he's doing, or crack some joke.

"Hi Gohan, how are you?" Erasa asked, breaking the incredibly tense silence. That seemed to trigger it, Gohan suddenly lost control of his mouth as he said the words he had been dreading for so long.

"I know."

There was no need to explain what it was he knew; they all tensed up considerably, Videl's head spinning around to look at him. She didn't look good, Gohan thought, like she hadn't slept right these past few days.

"Wha?" Videl's mouth was half open, but Gohan couldn't stop now, he had to get it all out.

"Bulma told me that she asked you guys not to say anything to me, but when I woke up, I knew something was wrong. I asked her… she told me everything, about what's going on with me, about what she told you…I'm sorry."

"About what?" Sharpener asked, now propped up on his elbows and looking straight at Gohan. Gohan looked surprised at him, but Sharpener asked again. "What are you sorry about?"

"Everything that happened to you. It's all because of me. Gero hired Johnson to get to me, he sent the androids after me, you all got hurt because of me! And then, with everything else going on, I turn out to be a madman."

"None of those are your responsibility" Sharpener said with a finality that surprised Gohan. Apparently, the two girls were surprised as well, because they looked at the boxer. Standing up, Sharpener looked straight at Gohan, staring him in the eye "You didn't ask for Gero to target you, he decided to do that because of what your dad did. You couldn't have known about it and you couldn't have done anything to stop it. We got hurt, yes, but every time we did it was because of our own choice! Videl decided to fight that alpha-whatever guy when they took the school hostage, just like she chose to fight against the first android. And I chose to take on the second android, staying in the middle of the battle zone, because I had to help my friends. I chose to stand and fight Johnson and his CCDD cyber freaks when they took us hostage. They took us hostage. They hadn't hurt us at all, until we chose to resist them. Even then, they didn't touch Erasa or those two kids."

This outburst of Sharpener, along with the way both boys were standing and staring at each other seemed to draw the attention of other kids in the schoolyard. Realizing they were in the center of attention, both Gohan and Sharpener quickly say down again, throwing a few fake smiles around. The other kids seemed disappointed there wouldn't be a fight, but quickly returned to what they were doing.

"Sharpener does have a point." Videl finally said with a sigh. "I did choose each of those fights myself. I made a stand, I fought and I got hurt. I can't let someone else take the blame for that."

This statement, simple as it was, made a large smile break across Gohan's face; Videl didn't hate him. Erasa gave a nod as well, much more energetic this time. There was still some worry in both of the girls' faces, but it was much less than before.

"And I've also gotten some help." Gohan admitted, realizing that his friends deserved to know the truth. They hadn't turned their backs on him, so he shouldn't keep them in the dark now. "That's where I've been for the most of these three days. To try and fix my… problem."

It was still hard to speak about, but he really couldn't say anything here. There were still other students out – the bell wouldn't ring for another five minutes – and he didn't want anyone else to know about it.

"That's good." Sharpener stated it like it was the most normal thing in the world, but Gohan did see that he wasn't leaning back or otherwise relaxing. The blonde was on full alert. "How're you going about it?"

"Well, for now we're aiming for some stability." Gohan explained. He wouldn't lie to them, not after what they had just done for him. But if they didn't ask him specifics, he didn't have to give them either. He would tell them about his real origins – Gohan realized he wasn't even in question about it, although he had never considered telling Videl or Erasa anything about his half-alien nature – but not now. Too many ears; too many other problems.

"So, for now I'm working on creating a new focus, something external that I can focus my entire being on. I'm going to participate in the World Tournament of Martial Arts. It's being held in about two months time. Martial arts are the only real thing all three are focused on, so it works out. And it gives me something to throw my frustrations, anger and focus at. It should work out pretty good."

"The World Tournament? Sounds cool." Erasa said, finding her voice again. She still sounded and looked uneasy, but less so then when she had greeted him.

"You're entering?" Videl asked, her voice nearly back to normal. The mere mention of the tournament seemed to ignite a new spark in her eyes. "Good, because so am I. I've been the Junior Division champion for four years in a row and I'm finally allowed to join in on the real tournament. I've been waiting for this opportunity for years!"

Just then, the bell sounded, signaling the mass of students it was time to enter the building and go to their classes. The quartet of friends stood up, lingering a bit longer, before they made to move into the masses now heading inside. They wouldn't have their first classes together.

Before they lost sight of each other, though, Gohan turned to look at Sharpener again. The blond seemed to realize what Gohan was going to say, because he placed a hand on his shoulder, comforting him, and smiled.

"Sharpener…" Gohan started, "Thanks for what you did back there."

"Always bro. You know that." Again, no hesitation, just simple fact.

"But about the fight… I don't think I can be your Second anymore." Gohan didn't dare look at his friend. "I… I won't be reliable, I might go unstable, I might mess everything up."

"You can do a lot of things, Gohan," Sharpener smiled back, though his tone made it clear he wouldn't accept excuses, "but messing up a fight isn't one of them. You'll be my Second, like we agreed on, and you'll give me advice. If you go unstable, I'll turn unpredictable. My advantage."

Gohan couldn't say anything else, because Sharpener stepped into the mass of students and almost immediately vanished from sight. Gohan couldn't do anything but smile. He really had the best of friends.

XxX

Gohan barely managed to avoid the fist that would have broken his nose, then blocked the elbow on the return, placing himself on Vegeta's blindside. He tried to strike, but before he could, Vegeta nailed him with an energy blast from his other hand. Taking the blast, Gohan flipped back and immediately charged forward, hoping to take the offensive.

The Saiyan Prince didn't return the charge, instead flipping backwards and letting Gohan pass over him. Then, with Gohan placed above him and unable to defend himself, he used his body like a spring and kicked the teenager in the stomach with both legs and all his force behind it.

Gohan was sent flying, crashed into the ceiling then bounced back, bounced off the floor and ceiling another time and finally came to a stop on the floor. Groaning with pain from being used as a ping-pong ball, Gohan didn't get up. It was the sign that the training was over and, once again, Vegeta had won the spar.

This had been the routine ever since Gohan had taken up training with Vegeta. First, each would do an hour and a half of their own training, both in the gravity room, but not bothering each other unless strictly needed. Then, they would continue into a spar that would last until one of them gave up.

The first spar had been incredibly one-sided. Vegeta's training had certainly bore it's fruits; Vegeta had wiped the floor with Gohan six times in a single evening. Sure, Gohan fought back as best he could, but he just wasn't used to fighting enemies on his own level anymore. The second evening had been much better, but Vegeta had still dominated. Tonight's spar had been much more even, Gohan thought.

He was a quick learner, had always been a quick learner, and he was rapidly adjusting to his body moving in five-hundred times earth's normal gravity. Vegeta stared down at him, bruises covering his chest, arms and face. Gohan imagined he looked much the same, only worse.

"Get up boy." Vegeta barked the order, turning around and disabling the Graviton. "Don't forget to visit the Green Midget before you go home. I didn't try to break anything, but with how weak you are, I can't guarantee it."

"Thanks for the workout Vegeta." Gohan grunted as he got up, nearly throwing up as he did so. The Prince's last kick had been nothing short of vicious and he could still feel it's effects. Walking out the door after his training partner, Gohan placed his hand on his stomach, half-limping to a bathroom.

Twenty minutes later Gohan was fully healed as he flew back from the Lookout to his house. So far Vegeta's theory had proven correct; the past week had been filled with one training after another and Gohan had noticed that he had grown more stable; his voice didn't switch anymore, thankfully.

Once, the day after his return to school, Gohan's voice had suddenly swapped to the Commander's in class. He managed to get away by saying he still had a sore throat and it made his voice jump sometimes, but it was a weak excuse and he knew it. If he wasn't jumping between personalities, it was much better for everyone involved.

His path home from the Lookout brought him straight over Satan City and as he flew, Gohan noticed a car moving much too fast and switching between lanes like mad. Flying lower, Gohan saw it was a car that was being chased by the police.

He didn't need to know anything else; someone was breaking the law and if this would go on, someone would get seriously hurt. Pressing the button on his watch, Gohan's body was covered by a glow as he transformed into Saiyaman.

An instant later he was flying above the fleeing criminals, lifting their car by the roof and neutralizing their speed without harming anyone. It seemed to take the thugs inside a moment or two to realize that they weren't moving anymore. Everyone in the street stopped what they were doing and looked at what was happening.

Saiyaman now held the car with one hand, balancing it with some effort, then quickly blasted two of the tires with small energy blasts. The police caught up and stepped out of their cars, several of them gasping at the sight, but an elder officer quickly recovered.

Slowly, Saiyaman lowered the car and set it down on the street. The elder officer ordered to others to move in and arrest the suspects, while he turned towards Saiyaman.

"Much obliged, Saiyaman." The officer said, tipping his hat at the superhero before placing both thumbs behind his belt. "Those thugs just tried to rob a jeweler. We were in pursuit when you showed up. There's a barricade about a block down the street, but your help probably prevented a lot of damage, both to the suspects and property."

"It was my pleasure officer." Saiyaman smiled at the old man, before flying off again.

Once in the air, Saiyaman pressed the button on his watch again, transforming his clothes back into Gohan's. But something still felt off; he was still Saiyaman, not Gohan.

"Focus yourself." Saiyaman mumbled, creating an image of Gohan in his mind. "That's who you are right now. Focus."

It worked as moments later, Gohan had returned to his normal self, exhaling deeply. It was a trick he had learned some days ago, focusing his mind on the personality he wanted to become, but it was rather hard. And it also didn't always work.

"Vegeta's training is helping." Gohan sighed, talking to himself as he flew home, "but my problems are far from over."

XxX

The light was already fading outside as Gohan reached Sharpener's house.

"It's getting dark early today, isn't it?" Erasa said she stepped out of her dad's car. "Oh well, it'll make a good atmosphere for the fight. Thanks for the ride daddy."

Erasa gave her dad a quick kiss on the cheek, then ran over to Gohan, who was holding the door open for her. Videl would probably already be there. They had agreed to all meet at Sharpener's house to wish him some luck for the match. Gohan and Sharpener would have to leave for the hall in another ten minutes and once there, it was estimated that it would be far too crowded for the group to meet again.

So, instead, they would meet at Sharpener's house, where Gohan and Sharpener would take a car provided by Hercule to go over to the hall, while Videl would fly there with her own copter, bringing Erasa with her.

Videl was already inside, just like they had thought, but so was another surprise guest; Parer Pencil, Sharpener's father. Oddly, considering the very tense relationship between father and son, they didn't seem to be arguing. Instead, Parer was sitting on Sharpener's loveseat, calmly sipping some coffee and chatting with Videl, while Sharpener opened the door for his two friends.

When Parer saw who it was, he stood up and greeted them. Erasa gave him a hug, which Parer returned before allowing the blonde girl to sit in his seat. Gohan walked towards the older man as well, extending his hand.

"Mister Pencil, a pleasure to meet you again."

Parer firmly shook Gohan's hand in return, smiling at the black-haired teen.

"Likewise, Gohan, likewise."

"I never had a chance to thank you for your information." Gohan continued, "Thank you for contacting us, it was a big help."

This drew some eyebrows from all the other teens, but Parer simply brushed it off.

"Not at all, my boy. My thanks to you for the expert way you used the information. I have you to thank for three of the four lives I hold most precious."

Sharpener seemed to connect the dots, giving a short nod. Afterwards, he placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder, drawing his attention.

"It's time. We've got to go, or we'll be late."

"Gotcha." Gohan nodded, turning around and walking to the door.

"Hey Sharpener, good luck out there tonight." Videl walked up to her friend, looking up at the taller male. "Remember, enter the fight with everything you have and you can't fail. Give it your all."

Sharpener nodded at her, accepting her advice with a grin. Erasa was next and like his father, Sharpener received a hug from her.

"Good luck!" she said, holding him tight. "You'll be facing your hero out there. But don't let that stop you, remember, he wants to fight you as much as you want to fight him."

Sharpener hugged Erasa back, nodding at her as well. He locked eyes with his father, but no words were exchanged. Instead, father and son nodded at each other, their eyes and silence saying what their words couldn't.

"_Good__ luck __son.__" "__Thanks __dad.__" _

When Gohan and Sharpener had left through the door, Videl turned to look at Parer.

"What were you and Gohan talking about?" she asked. With other people, she may have demanded an answer – her detective training and forceful personality had taught her that people would answer her more quickly if she demanded – but it never worked with any of the Pencils.

"When Erasa, Sharpener and those young girls were abducted." Parer smiled at them as he continued his cup of coffee. "I called to the Capsule Corporation and I got him on the line. I gave him the access codes for a state-of-the-art tracking device I had placed within Sharpener's jacket."

"So, because of you he was able to find us?" Erasa asked, looking at the old man again. "So, we have to thank you for saving our lives as well!"

"Well, hardly my dear. Hardly." Parer did indeed sound humbled, something that rarely happened with the grey-and-blonde haired man. "Gohan is a remarkable young man. I already knew that before I gave him that access code, but he used it and tracked you down in mere minutes."

"About that jacket…" Videl started, her face turning sour. "And everything else you and Daddy got for Sharpener. As much as I hate it, as much as I hate guns, I wanted to thank you. It did save our lives. If Sharpener hadn't had that gun with him, I don't think we would have made it out alive."

"That fact alone is all the thanks I could ever ask for." Parer returned. "I am grateful you are all alive, but I wondered every day since I gave Sharpener that jacket what a horrible man I am. What father asks his son to become a killer?"

XxX

Four hours after they had left Sharpener's apartment, Gohan, Sharpener, the Coach and one of the gym's assistants stood facing closed doors, ready to enter the arena. The last match had just ended and it was time for the main event; Sharpener's championship match.

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, let's hear it for the challenger!" the announcer's voice could clearly be heard over the speakers. The doors opened an inch, smoke machines turning on and hiding everyone from sight within moments. "Hailing from Orange Star High Gym, he's the former National Amateur Champion of the Middleweight class, the Rookie King of the year and after his last match, an undisputed First Class boxer. Weighing in at seventy-two kilograms, two hundred and ninety grams and reaching a hundred-seventy-eight centimeters, holding an impressive record of eleven fights, eleven wins, eight KO's, he is an undefeated talent so far. Let's hear it for… Sharrrrpenerrrr Pencil!"

The doors were fully open and Sharpener walked forward, his hands held high above his head as cheers and applause rained down on him. Gohan walked a step behind him, alongside the coach and the aid.

"Pencil has had a difficult time preparing for this match." The announcer continued as Sharpener walked to the ring. "Everyone still remembers how a mere two weeks ago, he had been kidnapped by an unknown criminal group and had been rescued by violent means. That he is present here today, so soon after such a major event, shows his dedication to the sport. But can this young talent take on the champion?"

Now all the lights turned towards the other door, which was also oozing smoke as it slowly opened.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, now entering the arena, the one man that all boxing fans in this nation know. The strongest champion in national history, a former world-champion. He now holds the impressive fourth place on the WBC. With a record of fifty-three fights, thirty-nine wins and twenty-five KO's, weighing in at seventy-one kilograms and nine hundred grams and standing a hundred-eighty centimeters tall, he has never been defeated by a man born on Japanese soil. Let's here it for the champion Rrrrisusagiiiii Kuuuuumaaa!"

The champ entered, his form shrouded in mist and holding his championship belt high, a look of focus on his face as he made his way to the ring.

"The champion has made it no secret that he has been looking forward to this match after having seen Pencil's last match in person. Both fighters had issued a challenge to each other. Who will prove victorious? The powerful and experienced champion, or the energetic and talented Pencil? Only time will tell."

Sharpener and Kuma both met the judge of the match at the center of the ring as he explained the basic outlines.

"Remember guys; no kicking, spitting, low blows or anything else. Let's have a nice clean fight. You ready?"

The champ nodded as he extended his glove to Sharpeners' in a greeting, which the teenager returned.

"Don't let me down kid." Kuma said; his voice amplified by the microphones focused on the ring. "I've been looking forward to a match like this for a long time. Make me work for my victory."

"Afraid I can't do that." Sharpener returned, his voice also ringing through the stadium, "'cause I'm going to win."

"Good attitude. But it won't save you." The champ's voice matched sharpener for it's confidence, neither willing to back down and both sure of their victory. At the judge's signal, both fighters returned to their respective corners for last second preparations and advice from their coaches.

"What'd you say Gohan?" Sharpener asked before he took a sip of the water to gurgle his mouth. Gohan's eyes had been focused on the champ since his appearance, taking in every aspect of his body to create a judgment.

"He's in good shape." Gohan said, thinking back to the endless vids of the champ's fights that he had been studying. "The best he's been in years. He's really worked towards this match. I won't lie; you have reasons to be worried. The champ's seen every kind of opponent there is. He felt every kind of punch you can take. He has wins and losses. He's had everything you can have in boxing, good and bad, and he's come back stronger every time. He's got experience on his side and years of training that you simply couldn't have had. Instead, use what he doesn't have; your speed and ability to adapt to a situation. Be quick on your feet and with your fists. Don't worry about making any big hits yet, just spend the first round feeling him out."

Spitting out the water, Sharpener placed the bit in his mouth and nodded at Gohan before turning around. The judge had called them both together again and this time, it was to begin the match.

It was time for Sharpener to face his greatest hero in personal combat.

XxX

Seated next to Hercule Satan and Parer Pencil, Videl and Erasa had what were possibly the best seats in the entire stadium. At the side of the ring, first row. They could see the entire ring and wouldn't miss a second of the fight.

Just before the fighters would enter the ring, the last group of viewers entered through a special VIP entrance. Videl nearly felt her eyes drop as she watched Bulma Briefs lead Chichi, Krillin, #18, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, The Ox King and Master Roshi in. they took their seats – second-row, just behind Videl's group – and made themselves comfortable.

Videl turned her neck as she watched Gohan's entire group of friends – minus Vegeta with his flame-like hair and the mysterious green men she had seen at the Capsule Corporation – settle down into seats behind them. They were all busy talking to each other, until Erasa literally stood up and waved at them. When the group saw them, though, they all greeted the two girls in some way.

Chichi's smile broke out like sunlight, pleased as could be at seeing the two girls again. She leaned over, happy to chat with them, but the crowd was too wild for comfortable talking. Tien and Chiaotzu, who they had only met at Goten's birthday party, politely inclined their heads, while Krillin and Yamcha gave a cheerful wave. #18 gave a short nod, very much to the point, while Bulma took her seat directly behind the two girls and greeted them.

"What're you guys all doing here?" Erasa had to shout to be heard over the noise, but Bulma had little problems with that. "You all here to cheer for Sharpener?"

"Well, some of us are." Bulma said, her voice also raised to a near shout, "but actually we're here to cheer for Gohan as well. It's his first time doing anything public and it's this big! It's a big step forward for him. I wanted to get us all front-row tickets, but there's only so much I can do in a single day."

Videl gave a nod, but before she could continue the conversation the announcer's voice rung through the stadium. It was time for Sharpener to enter the stage. But Videl barely saw as either the challenger or the champion made their way to the stage. Instead, she was thinking.

The people Bulma had brought were all top-rank fighters, arguably far above what Videl and her father could do… was it possible that Bulma had brought them over in case Gohan would go berserk?

A moment later, as the champ and Sharpener returned to their corners, shame filled Videl. She knew Gohan had mental problems, but he was handling them. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him like he was a psychopath, capable of turning into a murdering madman in a second? He hadn't done anything to indicate he was like that.

He was her boyfriend for crying out loud! Shouldn't she be able to trust in him some more?

She couldn't turn her inner debate about Gohan any further though, because the bell sounded and both Sharpener and the champion exploded into movement.

Videl didn't hear the presenter's comments as she watched, instead completely possessed by the show of extreme skill.

Sharpener and the champ were moving as if they were dancing; their feet never connected to the mat for more then a second, and their fists flying as blurs.

Circling around each other, both used expert outboxing, their lefts flying as they sent jabs flying in hopes of gaining an edge. But both fighters were also swaying, moving their bodies and blocking the strikes with their right.

For over a minute that seemed to last for an eternity, Videl was captured by the sight of pure skill. Sharpener and Kuma danced around each other, fists flying in hopes of gaining an upper hand, but the balance was never broken. Finally, they both took a single step back, stopping the violent exchange, but continued to circle around each other.

Both fighters were breathing hard, but if it was from the strain or excitement, Videl couldn't tell. An instant later, Sharpener had stepped forward again, his jab connecting with the champion's block, then it switched directions before it returned, becoming a hook instead.

The hook was enough of a surprise that it managed to blow the champ's block away and it changed direction again, striking the champ full in the face. The Swallow, as Videl knew it was called, was centered all around changing direction mid-punch. It was a formidable weapon to use, but difficult to control. It was the first time Sharpener had used it since he had started training under Gohan.

The punch to the face seemed to stun the champ, but he recovered quickly; Sharpener tried to follow up with a hook to the temple, but Kuma swung his head forward, evading the blow and closing the distance. Sharpener could barely block the body blow with his elbow.

Pushing with his entire body, Sharpener created some space and tried to punch the champ again, but was blocked. Then it was on again; both fighters were moving around the ring, fists flying but rarely moving past a block.

XxX

When the bell was sound, Sharpener and Kuma both took several steps back, but they didn't take their eyes off of each until there was no way they could strike each other.

The tension was heavy in the entire arena, but nowhere was it as heavy as in the center of the ring. When Sharpener returned to his corner, he didn't even sit down. Instead, he stayed standing, a look of intense focus on his face as he turned towards his seconds. In the opposite corner, the champion also refused to sit down.

Both were too excited and fired up to lose their energy now.

"Predict." Sharpener looked at Gohan, his eyes ablaze like Gohan had never seen them, as he removed the bit. He was covered in sweat and breathing hard, but it was all excited, not tired or afraid yet.

"You have the advantage." Gohan stated as he dipped some of Sharpener's sweat away with the towel. "You're the better outboxer. The difference is slight, but he knows it. He won't try it again; you gained an advantage when you struck him with the Swallow. But even beyond that, you stuck more hits then he did and you slipped past his guard twice. He knows that he can't defeat you with outboxing."

Spitting out the water, Sharpener nodded, allowing Gohan to continue.

"He already switched to infighting earlier, but you turned it on him. This time he won't play games anymore, he knows it's more effective against you so he'll come in full-force. Get ready for a full power charge with his head low."

"Got it."

At the judge's order, Sharpener and the champ both turned back to the ring. Sharpener's coach gave a questioning look to Gohan, surprised at his prediction, but didn't say anything. During the spars where Gohan had advised Sharpener, he had always been correct.

"And it's time for round two." the announcer's voice rang through the arena again. "The First round was an intense display of outboxing prowess; will it continue on in this round?"

"I'm surprised by Pencil's activity in the corner." the second commenter added, "He didn't communicate with his usual coach at all, instead it seemed like the young man had given Pencil advice. Has he switched coaches? Or does he have a new advisor?"

"It does look like that." the announcer agreed," but perhaps this change may provide Pencil with the unpredictability he needs?"

The gong sounded and the champ immediately crouched down, tucking his head in between his arms and charging forward, just as Gohan had predicted.

Sharpener was ready, thanks to Gohan's prediction, though and he used that readiness.

Sweeping his arm, Sharpener delivered a full-force uppercut with most of his weight behind it, ready to destroy the match then and there.

But as Sharpener's fist closed in to the champ's face, the older man suddenly flowed aside, escaping Sharpener's punch by a hair. While Sharpener was still following up on the punch, the champ used his momentum, fluidly stepping in from the side and swinging his full weight behind the counter-hook.

With his body still extended from his uppercut, Sharpener couldn't evade or dodge the blow. It struck him, with all the power the champ could muster.

The blow sent Sharpener flying through the ring.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

Please leave a review telling me what you think.

Beta Note: This chapter has been beta'd by Kushin eX, back from the grave folks!


	60. Chapter 60

Disclaimer: don't own the DBZ universe and I never will.

XXXxxxXXXxxx

Although he had been thrown across the ring by the champ's last punch, Sharpener sprang back to his feet easily, rushed back in and attacked. Unlike what anyone was expecting, it was the champion who looked stunned and couldn't react in time to evade the teen's punch.

"This is amazing!" the announcer yelled into his microphone as the crowd was roaring, "The challenger shrugs off the champion's hit like it was nothing, stunning the champion! The champ managed to block the challenger's attack, but only barely! Will he be able to regain his momentum, or is this the challenger's time to strike?"

The champ had gotten his glove in between the punch and his face, but that didn't mean he wasn't disoriented by the strike. While he was unable to counter, Sharpener dug deep into the offense, raining down blow after blow, pushing the champ back and into a corner.

"And now the Challenger is pressing his advantage hard, the champ is pushed into a corner, but he locks down his defenses and takes the beating! Ladies and gentlemen this is amazing, the challenger is now completely in control of the fight!"

Even though he was backed into the corner, the champ didn't give up, moving along and catching all of Sharpener's attacks on his block, shifting his weight every chance he got. The instant Sharpener backed off to regain his breath, the champ pushed forward, immediately stepping into Sharpener's chest, his right hand already moving to deliver a body blow.

But Sharpener didn't stop moving, using his impressive footwork to step to the side and evade the attack. He couldn't counter-attack, though, because the champion immediately stepped forward again and swung, forcing the teen to back off again.

"And now the champion turns it around again, what a match!"

Where the champ had previously depended on his toughness and defense to survive Sharpener's offensive, Sharpener relied on his feet and agility, always dancing and staying one step away from the champion. But the champ didn't relent, closing in every time Sharpener stepped away and keeping the pressure on.

Sharpener returned in kind, his left flying forward every chance it got, but the champ's defense were solid and the light jabs didn't get through.

DING-DING-DING

The sound of the gong drew in everyone's attention, stunning everyone with how quickly the round had ended. Both the challenger and the champion took a few careful steps away from each other before turning around and moving over to their corners.

"Sharpener, you did great out there." Gohan said the moment the boxer said down, "you bent with the punch and even jumped in the direction, it was perfectly timed. Did you see the look on his face? Keep it up, you had him shocked and he's still recovering from the surprise. Just be careful not to use it too often, for now keep your distance and tire him out. Remember, the early rounds are not where you score the KO against him."

Sharpener nodded, spitting out the water in his mouth before he returned to his deep breathing.

"Use the first half of this round to regain your momentum; he's still nervous because his punch didn't faze you. Gather your breath, lay in the offense, then back off and repeat. Got it?"

Sharpener nodded again, his eyes ablaze with fire. This was, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most alive he had ever felt in a match.

The beginning of the third round was different from the first two though.

"This is a complete change of pace!" The announcer yelled, "Both the champion and the challenger are standing in place, staring each other down."

Sharpener stared at his opponent, who was staring right back, both making one feint after another, hoping to distract the other. But neither was moving forward, allowing both fighters to catch their breath.

But Sharpener quickly got tired of the waiting, instead stepping forward and attacking. As his jabs flew forward, the champ immediately crossed his arms in front of him to defend himself and rushed forward, immediately pushing the younger fighter back into the ropes.

XxX

Even though the match was by far one of the most exciting she had ever watched; Videl just couldn't focus on it. Instead, her eyes kept drifting back to Gohan, who was standing in Sharpener's corner. Her boyfriend's eyes were on the two boxers, apparently not taking in anything else.

'_Is __he __ok __right __now?_' she caught herself thinking, '_He __looks __well __enough __and __he__'__s __focused __on __the __fight,__ so __he __should__ be __alright, __shouldn__'__t __he?_'

In the ring, the champion had just pushed Sharpener back into the ropes and was laying on the punishment, raining blows left and right, but the teenager locked his arms in, shifting his weight as quick as he could in order to take the punishment.

'_He__'__ll __be __alright. __For __now._' She assured herself, her eyes turning back to her boyfriend, '_but __what __about __after?__ He__ said __he__'__ll __go __focus __on __the __World __Tournament__… __but __after __that__'__s __gone,__then __what?_'

Sharpener tried to push the champ back, but the older fighter charged right back immediately, not letting Sharpener escape. Sitting in the corner, Gohan was yelling instructions to Sharpener with the best of them, but he didn't seem to be anyone other then Gohan. He was stable; just enthusiastic.

'_Is __that __how__ it__'__ll __be?__Every__ time__ he__'__ll __be __excited,__ I__'__ll __worry __if __he__'__s __safe __to __be __around?_' worry gnawed at Videl, '_or __will __he __always __be __working __towards __a __new __goal, __after __the __World __Tournament, __he__'__ll __just __pick __another __tournament__ to __fight in,__ until __he__'__s __won __that __as __well? __Is __that __his __future? __To __jump__ from__ one __goal __to __another, __always__ have__ a __suppressant,__ but__ never __a__ solution?_'

"Oh my god! Videl, did you see that!" Erasa shouted right next to her, literally pulling Videl out of her thoughts by yanking her arm. "Sharpener escaped! He's back in the fight!"

And true enough, down in the ring, the two fighters were once again standing in the centre of the ring and Sharpener was moving around the champion, raining lefts on him to keep his distance.

XxX

This time, Sharpener sat down and immediately started to focus on his deep breathing, recovering as much as he could. The third round had definitely been the champ's, with the pounding he had delivered when he had Sharpener up against the rope and the fourth round had been mostly equal, though Sharpener was landing more hits.

"Listen to me, Sharpener." Gohan said, kneeling down in front of his friend, "the champ's been switching between charging in and outboxing whenever he wanted too. It's dangerous, because he's good at both. He's keeping you on your toes, exhausting you because you can't expect the changes."

Sharpener nodded, but otherwise kept focussing on his breathing.

"Now, he's psyching himself up in his corner, so he'll come charging forward and get ready to push you back into the ropes. Don't let him. Keep your distance, use the Swallow to keep him away and recover. Got it?"

"Yeah." Sharpener grunted as he stood up, lifting his shoulders for a bit.

"When he charges in, make him pay for it, then keep him away."

-ding-ding-ding-

At the sound of the gong, Gohan and the other coaches got out of the ring as the two fighters stood up and faced each other. Just like Gohan had predicted; the champion bend forward and dashed in, ready to push Sharpener back into the corner.

Sharpener was waiting for it, stepping to the side and staying in the centre of the ring, waiting for the champ to rush in again. The moment the champ stepped forward, Sharpener attacked. But to Gohan's great surprise, the champ suddenly stepped to the side, having faked his charge, and instead used a cross-counter, landing a straight hit on Sharpener's face.

Sharpener immediately fell to the canvas, but Gohan barely registered that. There was another shock running through his system. His prediction had been wrong. The champ hadn't bull-charged, instead he'd faked the charge to set up a perfect counter.

"Four!" the referee counted, but Sharpener was already getting back to his feet, despite his bad balance.

"Five!" shaking his head in hopes of clearing it, Sharpener finally managed to get his feet under him and stop shaking. By the time the referee had counted to six, Sharpener was back on his feet and ready to go.

The instant the referee stepped away, the champ rushed forward in hopes of finishing the fight. Despite his clear disorientation, Sharpener managed to get his block up, turtling up to take the punishment.

It was clear, though. Although the previous rounds had been mostly even, the fifth round was squarely the champion's.

XxX

Videl was just as shocked as anyone when she saw Sharpener go down, though she wasn't quite sure what she had just seen. One second the champion had been rushing forward, the next he was standing somewhere else and Sharpener dropped.

"Wow, that was some move!" she heard Krillin exclaim. Fortunately the smaller man was sitting in front of her, or Videl wouldn't have heard with all the noise that the crowd was making.

"What's happened?" Bulma was just as excited as everyone else in the crowd, but she didn't have a fighter's eye. Krillin didn't take his eyes of the ring as Sharpener struggled to get back to his feet, but he did explain. Videl leaned in closer to hear what he was saying.

"Kuma just pulled an amazing move; I've never seen anyone other than me use something like that."

"What'd he do?" Bulma asked again, her eyes rapidly switching between the ring and Krillin.

"He charged forward, but that was a fake, luring out Sharpener's attack. Sharpener basically tried to counter the charge, which was almost a guarantied hit with the speed Kuma was charging at." The small fighter explained, "But the instant Sharpener prepared to attack, Kuma changed direction – which is pretty difficult when you're as big and heavy as he is – and instead countered Sharpener's counter. He landed a full-power right hook straight to the kid's jaw while Sharpener had no way to soften the blow. This hit may just decide the match."

"No, look, he's back on his feet! GO SHARPENER!" the blue-haired beauty yelled, joining nearly the entire arena.

"Yeah, he's tough. But you don't just shrug off a hit like that. I never thought someone like Kuma would've been able to pull that off." Krillin continued, but Bulma was now cheering on as the match continued. Videl heard him though and realized why it was so impressive.

'_But__…_' she thought, '_if __Krillin __had__ never __expected __Kuma __to __be __so __agile __with __his __build__… __would __Gohan __have?_'

Videl saw that Sharpener was pushed back from the corner of her eye, but she focused on Gohan instead. He was probably the only person in the entire arena who was as silent as she was. Instead, he was looking at the match with wide eyes, his mouth half-open in shock.

Although the surprise was clear to see on his face, Gohan still kept his eyes on the fight, but again Videl was full of worry.

'_Who__ is__ he__ now? __Is __he__ still __Gohan, __or __did __this __shock __him__ into __someone __else?_'

Cheers went up across the arena, making Videl pull her attention back to the ring. Somehow, Sharpener had managed to push the champion off of him and create some distance, but he was obviously still not back to moving normally.

XxX

Returning from the sixth round, Sharpener sat down to recover. Gohan entered the ring, but just like in the last round, he was silent. He was doing his job, wiping the sweat off of Sharpener and giving him some water to gurgle, but other then that… he hadn't given any advice in the time between the fifth and the sixth round.

Sharpener spit out the water, then looked at Gohan. He had done a miraculous job at surviving after taking that dangerous hit to the jaw, but the champ was pressing his advantage hard. Every chance he got, he cornered Sharpener and laid on the punishment.

"What?" despite his swollen lip and bruising, Sharpener managed to speak, though his eyes were locked on Gohan's face.

"I'm sorry." Gohan suddenly blurted out, his mouth moving before his mind, "I messed up, I should have seen that move coming, but I just…"

The moment the words left Gohan's mouth, Sharpener gave him a funny look but at that point he raised his glove and instead tapped Gohan on the chin, almost like he'd have given him a hit. Of all the reactions Gohan had expected, this hadn't been it. But Gohan still got it. Sharpener wasn't angry or disappointed and he still needed advice.

Getting the message, Gohan closed his eyes, took a deep breath and regained himself. When he opened his eyes again, they were much more focussed, no longer worried.

"He's got the advantage, let him know it." He instead said, "Play it out like you're weak and exhausted, keeping your distance. When he closes in to finish you, pay him back in kind."

Just as the gong sounded again, Sharpener looked at Gohan and nodded, standing up with obvious difficulty from his seat. Even when he walked forward, it was with shaky legs.

"Even though victory is near, the champion is not rushing in to finish the job!" the announcer yelled, "instead, he moves like a hunter, carefully cornering his prey step by step, without an escape path!"

Just like the announcer yelled, Sharpener kept taking a step back to keep his distance, standing just outside of the corner. Just before the champ stepped into range, though, Sharpener made a quick step forward and jabbed, forcing his opponent to back off.

"But the challenger is not done yet! He keeps the champion at a save distance, does he hope to recover from the damage?"

It repeated again, the champ pushing Sharpener back, but before he could attack, Sharpener made him back off. With every step he made, though, Sharpener seemed to sag in more and more, barely able to keep his guard up.

When the champ backed off for the fourth time, Sharpener rushed forward, launching one wild strike after the next, each a wide and powerful swing, but Kuma stepped back after each one, avoiding it with ease.

"Oh and look at that!" the announcer sounded even more excited then before, "the challenger delivers one wild punch after another! Each one looks to have plenty of power to KO, but with those wide swings, he'll never hit! It's a desperate man's charge, is this it?"

Ducking below another wide swing, the champ delivered a body blow that forced Sharpener to back off. When Sharpener came to a stop in the centre of the ring, however, he seemed to have lost all tension in his body; his arms hang by his side, unable to rise into a guard, his abs relaxed, leaving his body open to attack and Sharpener stood as tall as he could, his legs fully extended and unable to move quickly to the side.

This time, the champ did rush in as fast as he could, his right already drawn back to deliver the final blow. The entire arena held it's breath for an instant as Kuma stepped forward and used his right straight, striking Sharpener straight in the unprotected abdomen.

And then, faster than anyone but those trained in Energy usage could see, Sharpener tensed his entire body at the exact moment the punch touched him.

A massive gasp of astonishment sounded as it was the champion, not the challenger that suddenly stepped back in pain. Sharpener stood there, as relaxed as he had been when the champ had rushed forward and seemingly untouched. But the champion had backed off, standing in a corner and he was looking at his right fist in pain.

-ding-ding-ding.

XxX

An awed silence hung over the crowd as the two fighters returned to their respective corners, but Videl was still lost in her thoughts, seeing only flashes of the fight. Her mind kept wondering about what would happen with Gohan. About what would happen to _them_? He seemed to be doing fine, after Sharpener had fake-punched his head, fortunately, but what about the future?

"This match is over." Videl heard Yamcha say with a finality that made him heard even over the massive crowds.

'_Why__ is __it? __The __champ__'__s __at __an __advantage,__right?_' Videl looked at the two corners and could understand what the former warrior was talking about.

The champion was sitting in his corner, his coach busy placing ice on his fist, which was obviously in pain. But Videl had seen fighters who had been in pain before and there was more. The champ was worried about something.

Looking across the ring to Sharpener's corner, Videl saw the exact opposite. Sharpener was standing, not sitting, but he had seemingly relaxed every muscle in his body, leaning against the corner post like he'd lean against a wall at school. Gohan was standing in front of him, talking to him, but Videl couldn't hear what was being said.

As the eight round started, Videl found herself drawn into the match completely for the first time. No other things were on her mind, just the fight itself.

Kuma seemed to have overcome his worry when the round started. He tightened his guard and dashed forward again, ready to push Sharpener back into the corner and finish the fight. At the opposite corner, Sharpener stood straight, taking one normal step at a time, but he didn't have a guard up or anything.

'_He__'__ll __get __slaughtered!_' Videl wanted to shout, to yell at her friend to guard himself, but her voice wouldn't be heard in the massive crowd. And it wouldn't be needed either.

Even though Sharpener simply stepped forward one step at a time, his body as relaxed as it could be, the champion closed in. but before he even tried to attack, the champion suddenly jumped back, opening the distance with Sharpener. From where she was sitting, Videl had a perfect view of the champion's face. That's when she realized what Yamcha had meant.

"His spirit is broken!'" She yelled, but her voice was lost in the crowd. "He's afraid to get close, because when he punches Sharpener, he'll hurt his fist."

"More than that." Krillin said, turning around to look at the girl, "He's afraid because Sharpener's been shrugging off some of his best hits without taking damage. And just now, the champ had a clear shot, but instead of hurting his opponent, he's hurt himself. His every instinct is confused. All he has now is his bravado and that won't win him the fight."

Videl realized how true the older man's words were when she saw the champ rush forward again, but like before he backed off before he was close enough to attack. However, this time, Sharpener didn't stay back. The instant Kuma backed off; Sharpener rushed forward, his left and right becoming a blur of motion as he rained down punch after punch. It was all Kuma could do to raise his own arms in defence.

And then, with the champ too worried about fighting back, Sharpener broke through his guard. A right hook broke open the guard; a left upper to the chin followed and stunned the champ, opening him up for the final blow. Sharpener hit the champ with a full-force right hook, sending his straight to the canvass.

Stepping in between the two fighters, the referee immediately crossed his arms over his head. The fight was over.

XxX

Screams of pain filled the room as Gero was working, but he ignored it all. He had to be very careful, or he would ruin everything he had been working on for the past fifteen hours. His specimen was tied down, but still conscious. That had been very important, or the work could fail. Any anaesthetics at all and it could all be for nothing.

Just as he finished up on the last bone, the door behind him opened and pain flooded every sense, overruling anything else. There was no thought, no realization, no warning. Nothing but the pain.

When it resided enough to become aware of his surroundings, Gero looked up and saw the two figures he loathed the most standing in front of him.

"Well Gero, how are you progressing?" Babidi asked, the disturbing grin on his green little face mocking Gero as he lay on the floor. "You've been quite busy today but I still haven't heard what you've been doing. I want all my soldiers upgraded and I want it done now."

"I've told you before." Gero spat at the green little wizard, "I can only work on humans, your alien biology is too strange. I'll need at least a dozen years to study it before I can do these procedures on you."

Dabura's backhand was far too fast for Gero to see coming, he only knew he had been hit because all of a sudden there was more pain than before and he was twenty feet back, embedded into the wall.

"You will show proper respect to your master, vermin, or I will destroy you right here." The large demon said, before he too gave the old doctor a grin. "And for all the genius you claim to possess, we see surprisingly little of it. You will do as the master demands, or suffer for it."

Gero wanted nothing more than to kill the demon, but it's powers were far beyond Gero's. So, he was left with no choice but to do as they said. Dabura walked forward, pulling Gero out of the wall with one hand and then pushed him over to a nearby computer console.

Under the eye of the evil wizard and his pet demon, Gero sat down before the screen and hooked himself up. His new body, which Babidi had literally made of magic for him, was almost seven feet tall and as wide as Dabura, but other then that it was an abomination. He had two arms and legs, so he could control the body more easily, but that was as human as it got.

Each hand ended in claws, there was a large tail running where his spine was supposed to be, erupted both above his head and below his legs and his body was literally made of a dozen different colours. Some parts of him were grey, others green or white or even purple. But the most disturbing of all were the dozens of small wires and tentacles that were sprouted from all over his chest. Some of them were for holding tools, others for helping him with work but most of them were simply useless.

Now, however, he used one of the wires to connect himself with the ship's mainframe. It held an extensive database with information about the physiology and biology of every species that Babidi had controlled. Not enough for Gero's research, he knew, but enough to send him along the way.

As Gero was downloading the alien information directly into his brain, suffering another case of sensory overload while he was at it, Babidi and Dabura turned to look at the table where the aged doctor had been working.

A larger, highly muscular man stood up under Babidi's orders, the bonds that were holding him disappearing at a wave of the wizard's hand.

"Come."

The large man gave a grunt, blood leaking from his massive wounds, but he followed his master anyway. As he walked after the little green man, his injuries closed up, stitching themselves back together.

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Beta Note: Kushin eX authenticating this chapter as beta'd. Enjoy and review all.

Everyone, I apologize for the sudden lack of spacing in the bold and italic lines, I do not know where that came from. when I was writing the chapter and when I went over it in MS word, everything was fine. it was not supposed to all be put together, but apparently FFN messes up the spacing for some reason... something that has never happened before the last chapter. I've now fixed that problem in the edit/preview reader, but if it still shows up as one wall of text, please let me know ASAP.


	61. Chapter 61

Disclaimer: Don't own nothing.

A/N1: The previous chapter's lack of spacing in the thoughts has been fixed. That was in no way intentional and happened for some reason I can not explain. If you want an easier read of that chapter, you can go over it again.

A/N2: I am really sorry about the incredible delay for this chapter, but for the past couple of months I've been terribly busy with school, work and life in general and that stopped me from having any inspiration to write. Now I'm back and hopefully I can continue with my usual schedule.

A/N3: Kushin eX has a new fanfic in action that I Beta, I recommend you all go read it, it's a great read and has a lot of highly interesting characters. You can find it in the Naruto section under the name of "The Ultimate Stars"

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"And it's over!" the announcer shouted, his amplified voice barely heard over the crowd's loud roars. "With a devastating combination of attacks, the challengers has turned the tide and won! What an amazing victory! What an amazing match! Ladies and gentleman, let's hear it for the new, Japanese Middleweight Champion! Sharpener Pencil!"

Back in the ring, Sharpener had walked back into his own corner, barely being able to keep standing. Almost as soon as the referee had made his signal, each boxer's team had rushed in: Sharpener was quickly supported by Gohan, while Kuma was being tended by his own coach. Still, when the announcer said his name, Sharpener raised one glove and grinned, beside himself with ecstasy.

Almost as soon as the supporting teams, reporters flooded the ring, immediately shooting questions at the new champion and, really, anyone they could get close too.

"How do you feel as the new champion?" "What did you do to assure victory?" "Can we get a statement?" "Mr. Pencil, do you plan to continue on to the world stage?" were the questions that Gohan could clearly hear, but he also heard others mixed in.

"Who is your new second?" "What kind of training did you give?" "Coach, why have you relinquished your position to an unknown boy before such and important battle?"

For this, Gohan was glad that Sharpener's old coach was around: the man proved surprisingly adapt at ignoring all the questions and only answering a select few, while signalling to Gohan to keep quiet. Finally, the announcer's voice was heard again, requesting a silence. Although the cameras still kept going off everywhere; silence quickly ruled the entire arena.

In his own corner, the former champion was struggling to stand up, but what surprised Gohan more was the fact that the man was already standing: he had expected the older man to stay out cold for at least a couple of minutes, maybe as much as an hour. Really, this old fighter was full of surprises. He had a short conversation with his coach, that ended with the coach nodding a lot and helping the boxer stand up straight, much like Gohan was supporting Sharpener.

Someone else came up running, holding the championship belt, and quickly ran to the former champion. With a face contrasted with pain, Kuma stop leaning on his coach and grabbed the belt with both hands, raising it in front of him as he turned towards Sharpener. Much like the champion, the blonde boxer stop leaning and stood on his own, taking a few steps forward, until they met in the middle.

"Congratulations." Kuma simply said; his voice heavy with both pain and some emotions Gohan couldn't place. "You're the new champion." Without further ceremony, he handed the large belt to Sharpener, who also held it and kept staring at it for a minute or so, before raising it above his head in triumph.

Twenty minutes later, Gohan and Sharpener finally managed to enter the dressing room, having shaken off all the reporters. The media hounds apparently didn't care much that Sharpener was also badly hurt from the fight, or that he needed rest. But even the dressing room was rather crowded: aside from some staff, there were four guests that Gohan had expected to see.

Videl, Erasa and Krillin quickly stepped forward to help Gohan support Sharpener, while Bulma was quickly rolling up some towels to serve as a pillow for Sharpener. The boxer wasn't given a choice in the matter as they laid him down on the bench, forcing him to take some rest.

Only when that was all accomplished and they were sure that Sharpener was actually safe, did they say their congratulations. After Sharpener thanked them, they also turned to Gohan and congratulated him, though Gohan did notice how Videl didn't come over to hug him like the others.

"But now I have to wonder, how on earth am I going to explain this at school?" Erasa finally half-joked when everyone was seated. Sharpener was being examined by a doctor, so the five others were sitting a short distance off. "I mean, he's supposed to be my boyfriend, but I didn't know he could do that…"

"Tell them Sharpener used a special technique," Videl supplied, "a secret one, that you're sworn not to reveal. That should solve it, right?"

As the two girls were talking about what would happen at school, Krillin and Gohan were also having a private talk.

"Are you ok?" The former monk asked, though he made sure to keep his voice hushed, "you looked pretty shaken out there for a bit."

"I was." Gohan admitted, though he didn't sound tormented anymore. "Kuma did things I'd never have considered. Guess he was just that good a fighter, huh? I was surprised, because I thought it was impossible. But it's not a problem now."

Seeing the happy smile Gohan gave, Krillin knew that this time, his young friend wasn't lying.

XxX

Gohan had never been so relieved to hear the school's bell ring. All morning, he had been swamped by other students running up to him and congratulating him, or asking for an autograph or other weird things.

As had become their habit, Sharpener and Gohan had met up outside the school and arrived together. Just like he had expected, Sharpener was greeted like a hero and everyone congratulated him on his victory and new title. What he hadn't expected was that everyone had also seen him and he was now suddenly considered almost as famous and popular as Sharpener himself.

And Gohan had never been the centre of attention. He hated being the centre, because of everyone looking at him and making him nervous. So, when the bell had rung, Gohan had moved as fast as reasonably possible and nearly made a mad dash for class. But even there, he found most of the same: even the teacher moved over to quickly congratulate Gohan on Sharpener's victory, before going on to class. When he had reached his desk, Gohan saw that Erasa had difficulty keeping in her giggles.

"What's so funny?" He finally asked, after she had to stop herself from laughing for the third time in a row from simply looking at him. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No, it's not that." Erasa ensured him, still giggling "It's just you. You're pretty much superman incarnate: there's nothing you can't do, but you get nervous as hell from a group of fans. The man who can deal with anything can't deal with being popular."

"Yeah, I know. Give me a problem that I can solve and I'll do it, but this… I just don't know what to do with it."

"Well, it is amusing to see you this cornered." Videl added, giving a weak smile as she looked at her boyfriend. "But if it's so much of a problem, I suppose we could help you out with it."

"Really?" Relief flooded Gohan's voice, more then he'd have thought. It was more then Videl offering to help: it was the first time she had done anything like normal since she learned about his problem. That simple fact made Gohan's heart leap out of joy.

Almost as if on queue, the boy in front of Gohan turned around in his seat and addressed the half-saiyan.

"So, what's it like being the second to a national champion?"

Before Gohan could do anything other then stutter for a second, Erasa and Videl addressed the boy.

"Matt, since when are you interested in boxing?" Erasa started, immediately followed up by Videl's. "You always hate Sharpener's guts. Now turn around and pay attention."

XxX

Fortunately, the sudden fame was only temporary; a week later, Gohan was no longer bothered by fans at school and his life returned to relative peace. The madness had even extended to his work for a bit, but that had only been one day. His fellow researchers had all congratulated him on training a champion, but after that they quickly lost interest and returned to work.

Likewise, Gohan had also given his full devotion to his work, now that he didn't have to worry about schoolwork – he'd finished everything for the rest of the year – or training Sharpener – who was on a three week recovery break. In fact, if Gohan had been honest, he might have thrown himself a bit too much into his work. Videl wasn't the only one avoiding the issues between them since the discovery of Gohan's multiple personalities.

So, under Gohan's supervision, all projects had sped up significantly. Project Supercycle had developed a working prototype, but so far the machine was far too bulky to really be effective. Still, they had proven that it was possible to build the machine they wanted, now it was just a process of sliming it down and fitting everything in such a way that the machine kept his power, but lost it's massive size.

Likewise, the Mobile Graviton had been deemed complete: the field test that the Commander had performed when he faced off against Johnson had shown it's effect. The machine was in perfect working order. Only the effect of Energy was not sure, but again, this was a test Gohan didn't feel very comfortable running just yet.

So, that left the last and biggest project Gohan was running: the Energy Research. They too had made rapid advancements, which was the reason Gohan was still in his office despite the time. The final tests had been done three days ago and Gohan was compiling all the obtained data so he could write a coherent and understandable paper.

Now that he was mostly done with the writing, Gohan sat back and started thinking. Just a small break, the kind he took every thirty or so minutes. However, as he had been writing the paper, the same thoughts kept creeping back to him. Thoughts about the consequences of this research.

Finally, he reached a conclusion: he couldn't decide this on his own. This research paper would influence many lives, not just his own. And therefore, the decision was out of his hands. So, instead, he picked up the phone and called Bulma. Two redirections later, he had the heiress on the phone – her private line was still secured against anything but the most important phone calls.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?" The heiress was almost whispering, "Wait, hold on. I just put Bra in her bed, wait a second till I'm out of her room. Ok, done, what's up?"

"It's about my research." Gohan started, unable to stop a large sigh from escaping. "I'm coming up to a problem and I can't solve it on my own."

"Well, how about I come over tomorrow and we can have a look at it together? Must be pretty serious if you can't solve it, right?" The smile was almost audible in Bulma's voice; after her family, research was her greatest love.

"No, it's not actually related to research. I… I want to ask you something. Can you ask everyone – Krillin, Tien, Yamcha and everyone else, to come together sometime soon? I've got something I want to discuss with them. It's about the Energy research and I think they deserve to have a say in the matter."

"You're being awfully mysterious about this." Bulma remarked, "But I can call and ask if they've got time next week. Except for Yamcha and Chiaotzu, most of them really don't have busy schedules, so it shouldn't be that hard."

"Great Bulma, thanks."

"Anytime kiddo. Now, be sure to go home and get some sleep. You need it."

"Will do. G'night." With that, Gohan hung up and looked around. The rest could wait until after Gohan had talked with the rest, so he prepared to leave. Taking a last look at his desk, Gohan suddenly realized the mess he'd made. Files lay scattered everywhere, so Gohan set about the task of cleaning it up. There was one particular set of files that drew his attention though.

The Energy Research data file lay atop the Mobile Graviton's paper.

Inspiration suddenly struck Gohan and he sat back down, already working out formulas in his head.

XxX

Her leg swept forward, kicked the bag and returned to it's original position, all in a split second, but Videl's mind wasn't in the training. Her body kept going through the motions, shifting weight and striking with enough force to send the sandbag flying, but for all her efforts, she couldn't stop thinking.

Before, training had always been her outlet; whenever she was frustrated, or worried, or depressed, she'd go into the gym and work out. The physical exercise would force her to focus, force her mind to abandon whatever it was doing and cooperate with her body to gain the level of focus needed.

Not anymore.

Since she had learned to use her Energy, her physical prowess had increased exponentially; in those short weeks where she was training with Gohan, Videl knew her power had increased tremendously, making her at least three times as strong as before. She'd never even considered that it would be anything but a good thing. Her fights would be easier; she'd be faster and stronger then ever.

Now, she hated her new strength. Her body could move as well as ever, making it appear to the world that she was performing as she always had, while she was barely trying. For the first time since she started martial arts, she couldn't empty her mind and focus.

It was driving her mad.

'_Why__?_' Even her thoughts were frustrated, but even more so, confused. Her dilemma had been haunting her for weeks now. '_Wha__t am I going to do with Gohan?_'

With the question voiced in her head again, Videl finally stopped her rapid assaults on the bag. Looking at it, she saw that her attacks had completely deformed the heavy bag: even her dad's punches didn't leave that much of an impression on the bags.

'_I like him. I like him a lot, maybe I love him._' She had admitted that to herself and once she had gotten over the shock, it wasn't nearly as bad anymore. '_But__… he's not healthy. I like Gohan, I like Saiyaman and I suppose I don't hate the Commander either, but…_'

The biggest problem wasn't that Gohan was, in fact, all three of the most interesting – and frustrating! – men in her life, but the fact that every one of his aspects was interesting for a different reason. Reasons that shouldn't be combined. Gohan was always sweet, intelligent and kind, but he also wasn't afraid to stand up to her and tell her the truth, even when she didn't want to hear it. Saiyaman was heroic, an excellent example and brave, but he was also a big idiot who couldn't say no to anyone and was completely clueless.

Those two combined didn't freak Videl, she could see those two being the same person and working out well. In fact, that had been what she had thought of Gohan when she fell in love with him.

But the Commander was nothing like the other two; he was brutal, efficient and dedicated to his duties. The only thing they seemed to have in common was that he too avoided unnecessary victims. But unlike Gohan and Saiyaman, the Commander had no problem killing others, even after they had survived. He seemed to completely lack Gohan's kindness and Saiyaman's empathy.

So why the hell were they one and the same person?

Walking over to the weight rack, Videl added the heaviest weights possible to the machine – well over seven times her body's weight – and started doing squats. She hardly felt the weight as she bend her knees, although the machine was creaking in protest under the weight.

'_But__ the worst of it is,_' her mind wouldn't stop, even now, '_is that he's becoming unstable; what if someday he'll stop being able to separate them? What if he Gohan suddenly starts becoming v__icious __or Saiyaman stops caring about other lives?_'

"Why am I so bothered?" Videl felt like shouting, but she couldn't. The gym was empty and her shouts would have been heard far and wide, drawing attention of servants or worse, her father. "It should all be clear, shouldn't it?"

Gohan was her boyfriend, for crying out loud! They'd been together for almost three months, three months of being blissfully happy, three months of stolen kisses and loving smiles. In those three months, he'd already been mentally ill, she just hadn't known it. And back then, they'd gotten along perfectly.

And, besides, she couldn't leave Gohan. Not because of this; he couldn't help the fact that he had an illness. It wouldn't be right to cut off all ties, just because of that. Videl knew it wouldn't. Everything in her screamed that she couldn't, that it was wrong, that it wasn't something that you could do.

Yet… yet her she knew things had changed. Gohan hadn't changed, Videl hadn't changed. Their situation may have changed, but if they hadn't, the answer should be clear.

"Why the hell am I so conflicted!" This time she did shout.

With a grunt, she placed the weights back and left the gym, quickly moving to her room. It was supposed to be simple. Videl had a boyfriend. Her boyfriend had a mental illness. Her boyfriend could turn into a superhero, or a super soldier in the blink of an eye.

Her thoughts never left, always tormenting her, even when she was under the shower.

"Why can't it just be simple?"

Only now, when the hot water was running over her body and no-one could ever see it, did she let herself go. Only now, where they would be unrecognizable, did the tears come.

XxX

The next week had arrived much sooner then Gohan would have liked, yet at the same time he had been waiting for it with frustration and bathed breath. He wanted this to be over, but he was also relocated to do it. Gohan didn't like the mixed feelings.

Even so, he had requested the meeting and everyone had complied. So here Gohan was, waiting just outside the Brief's living room. Taking a last breath to calm himself, Gohan walked in.

As usual, Vegeta was standing some distance off, leaning against a wall. Tien stood in a similar position on the other side of the room – for all their arguments, Gohan did notice that the two warriors shared some common traits. Not that he'd ever tell them. Piccolo stood in a similar position on a third wall. Upon hearing Gohan enter, he turned and gave a nod.

The centre of the room was far more crowded and alive however. #18, Bulma and Chichi were sitting together, chatting about something, while Roshi was lying besides them, apparently freshly KO'd by #18; the old man had been trying something dirty again, no doubt. Krillin and Yamcha were sitting on another couch, talking with Dende and Mr. Popo. Puar and Oolong were having a conversation with Chiaotzu, while the Ox King was watching Goten, Trunks, Marron and Bra play with the Turtle.

When Gohan asked to see everyone, he had meant _everyone_.

One by one the small groups noticed his arrival and stopped what they were doing. Only the kids kept on playing their game and Gohan wasn't particularly intend on stopping them. With all other eyes on him, however, his nervousness increased tenfold.

'_Best if I go straight to business._' Gohan thought, '_Get it over with right away._'

"Hey guys, I've called you all here because I've got something I want to share with you." Gohan started. He could see that Yamcha and Krillin were about to make a joke, but once he gave them both a stare, they decided to keep their mouths shut. With no interruptions, Gohan continued.

"For the past couple of months, I've been doing rather extensive research. Research into Energy and how it is created. We all know about Energy and most of us use it on a regular basis. Well, when I fought the androids a couple of months back, I discovered that the body gives recognizable signals before and during the usage of Energy. That discovery got me thinking and finally working. If Energy can be measured, we can actually prove that it exists. Since then, I've had a team work on how to measure Energy and, more importantly, how it comes to be."

Still standing, Gohan activated a storage capsule and threw it to the ground. Immediately, a large stack of documents appeared, which Gohan quickly started handing out.

"What I have here, are copies of the finished research. It details exactly what Energy is, where it comes from, how it can reach such high levels and how it affects out physical capabilities. Short version: the Energy we use is basically super condensed and highly refined Energy our bodies use for every activity, from walking to breathing. Through out training we've refined and enhanced that same Energy to make us all superhuman fighters."

As soon as everyone but the kids had a copy, people started flipping through the file, but obviously, most of the people present didn't find it that interesting, instead turning their attention back to Gohan. Only Vegeta, Bulma, Roshi and Yamcha kept on reading.

"So, brat, what did you want to talk about?" Vegeta finally asked. Bulma didn't even look up at her husband's tone, instead focussing all her attention on what she was reading.

"The paper presents a major problem that I can't answer alone." Gohan continued, now pacing around the room. "With it, I have complete scientific proof that can not be dissuaded that Energy exists and we are not tricksters. And, now that we know how Energy is created, I've also developed several short methods to allow a person to learn how to use their Energy. With this research, it'll become possible for practically any person to learn to use their Energy."

This raised a lot of eyebrows, as everyone suddenly quieted down.

"But that's not the problem. I'm worried about is what would happen if this paper is published. Once the world realizes that what we did at the Cell Games is real, our lives are over. Right now, we live our lives the way we want them too. But if this comes out, it'll become inevitable that we can no longer live in secrecy. People will recognize us, people will realize our powers. Publishing this will change our lives forever. That's one thing I'm worried about."

"Wow." Everyone turned to Bulma as she made the sound of amazement when she went over the paper. She had hardly heard a word Gohan had said, apparently. No-one else said anything and finally the genius realized that everyone was now looking at her.

"Oh, it's this." Bulma smiled, pointing at the paper. "This stuff is amazing Gohan. With the amount of detail you've included, giving everyone the ability to recreate the research and the theory-supported teaching methods… this is easily Nobel Prize material!"

Now a stunned silence ruled and everyone returned to Gohan, with a newfound respect in their eyes. They had always known he was smart, but if Bulma was impressed by his research… and she even claimed that it could gain such a prestigious award.

"No, it's even worse." Gohan's voice didn't sound at all excited or praised. Rather, he sounded worried. "This paper is much more then Nobel Prize material; it's possibly the key to mankind's next stage of evolution. But that's why I've asked you all here. I want your opinions."

Still silence ruled, but Gohan didn't mind. With a last sigh, he sat down in a seat, looking around at his friends and family, one at a time.

"I want to ask what you think; should I publish this, or destroy it?"

XXXxxxXXXxxx

This chapter has been beta'd by the one, the only, the incredibly not-handsome, Kushin eX!

As always, please leave a review.


	62. Chapter 62

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or anything related to it. I'm just borrowing it for a bit of fun.

**Author's Note: Surprise to everyone; I'm back. It took me over a year and a half, during which I as very busy, but I'm finally here with an update. Thanks for everyone who was a loyal fan in that time, I got a lot of reviews and private messages asking me to continue this story. I've had writer's block, lack of inspiration, general business in life (including graduating from Uni and getting a job) but I am now back in the game. **

**I would like to give special thanks to my Beta, Kushin eX, who's been a solid friend throughout our time together, for standing by me and always willing to bounce ideas back and forth. Also, to everyone who reviewed and PM'd me to request me to continue this story. It was very inspiring to read that even over a year after I'd abandoned this story, people still enjoyed it.**

**In the intervening time, I have watched the entire DBZ Kai series, the first time I've ever seen the entire DBZ saga in succession. Before, my fandom of it was based on watching it on TV and I missed some episodes. Also, I was acting most on the characterization I had in my head, meaning it was from back when I was much younger. Re-watching it as an adult made me realize that I have always overestimated Gohan's role in the series (especially in the beginning) and underestimated Goku's. also, before I had much difficulty capturing Goku's character, which was one of the breaking points for this chapter. I hope I do the character justice in this story. **

**For everyone who reads this, I hope you will continue to enjoy this story. I have, in my head, made up how I want the rest of the story to go, but much like you, I will have to wait and see where it really ends. I will, however, NOT continue Naruto Arashiodori for those of you who also read it. I have been very disappointed with how that story was going even while I was writing it and in the last years (well before I dropped writing fanfiction in general) I have grown to openly loath the Naruto manga. So while I may offend some fans with that statement, I hope that those who still read it enjoy it, but I will not continue that story any further. **

XXXxxxXXXxxx

"Why do you want us to decide, Gohan?" Roshi was the one who asked the question, breaking the somewhat uneasy silence that had ruled the room since Gohan's statement. "It's your research; you must know what's best with it, right?"

"Actually, I don't." Gohan replied, looking at the old master, who looked surprisingly serious. "If I publish this, I'll irrevocably change all our lives, but more importantly, I can change the future of the human race. That's… too big a decision for me to make alone. So I want your input."

"The research is very impressive Gohan," Piccolo started, drawing the looks from everyone, "but it should never leave this room. Mankind is not ready for this kind of knowledge yet. Not by a long shot."

"Why do you think that?" Chichi stood up to face her son's mentor, but there was none of the venom that it once held.

"Because mankind does not have the level of individual responsibility needed to handle this kind of power."

"Hey, I think we're doing a pretty ok job about it." Yamcha defended, "most of the people in this room who can use energy are human, or at least part-human, and I think we're doing pretty well for ourselves, right?"

"Yes, that's true Yamcha." Roshi spoke up before Piccolo could answer. "But we're only a handful, not even two dozen, as opposed to the billions of people in the world. Furthermore, we were all handpicked for our martial prowess and strength of character. Imagine if we didn't have our morals and ethics to keep us how we are. What do you think would happen?"

"I don't know, we'd be hailed as the greatest hero's the world has ever seen, the strongest warriors known to man and other cool stuff?" Yamcha offered, giving a sheepish smile. Even as he said it, he knew how it sounded. Still, this statement did draw the attention of both Goten and Trunks, who instantly started grinning at the mention of being heroes.

"For real?" Goten shouted, while Trunks added "Cool, I can stop hiding my powers at school!"

Before they could continue, however, both were stopped cold when it was, of all people, Korin who spoke. They'd never seen – let alone heard speak – the floating cat, but there was something about him that seemed to radiate a level of respect and authority that made both boys quiet down and listen.

"No, I don't think that'd happen. History shows that mankind, with it's current level of civilization, is dependent on weaponry for peace. The only reason there's peace between nations is because if one nation attacks another, the others will retaliate with weapons strong enough to destroy the invader."

"Are things really that bleak?" Krillin asked, "I like to think people are smart enough that world peace isn't such a fantasy. If all the nations would discard their weapons, the peace could stay, right?"

"Where would we put them?" Chiaotzu asked. As the only one who actually ruled a nation, he had wondered the same dilemma as Krillin was going through. "If we destroy our weapons, their effects would still decimate the earth. If we store them somewhere, inevitably someone will find them and become a serious threat. And that's only if everyone does agree to discard the weapons."

"Forget the weapons keeping peace, even for a moment." Dende started, "If everyone's power were equal that would still create great problems."

"Like what?"

"For starters, how do you suppose governments will hold order when every person is capable of destroying cities or, worse, the planet? If someone disagrees with what the government does, now, all they can do is protest and whine. With energy, they can destroy the ruling body. And that's just one group. What about criminals, teenagers, abusive relationships and anything else that is happening on earth where violence is involved?"

"Don't you think you're focusing a little too much on the negatives?" Krillin interjected, "I mean, I know you make valid points, but we're being focused on all the negative effect it might have. I don't hear anyone about the positives: if everyone could use energy, there'd be no more need for cars and other kinds of polluting transportation, I'd help save the environment, right?"

"True, but consider the flipside of that." this time it was Roshi who addressed his old pupil, "Oil, public transportation and vehicle-creation are all incredibly major industries. What would happen if they suddenly become obsolete? The world would suffer an economic crash, entire countries would go bankrupt within months and thousands if not millions of people would lose their jobs."

Krillin's only response was a deep sigh.

"Ok, how about we all take five for a second, we'll each think about it!" Yamcha suddenly suggested, "'cause as much as I know you guys are making sense, I'd like to hear some positive news about humans as well. And that'd take a bit longer to think up, or come up with counterarguments. Besides that, I really need to use the bathroom." He added the last part with a grin, but his idea of a break had been accepted.

It was, as everyone present knew, always much easier to think of the negatives then the positives, so a small break was allowed to think up their arguments. Yamcha quickly left for the bathroom, but returned no more then a minute later.

Yet he already found everyone in the room gathered in smaller groups, conversing with each other about the subject. Vegeta was still standing by the wall and, oddly enough, the kids had moved over to him. Probably since he was the only adult not locked in conversation. Chichi and Bulma were talking to the Ox King and Chiaotzu, while Tien was deep in conversation with Dende and Korin. Piccolo, Roshi, Yajirobi and 18 were standing in another corner, also talking.

But Yamcha's eyes traveled over to where Krillin was talking to Gohan. If he was right, Krillin had the same idea that he had and it was time to get some answers from the resident teen genius.

"Impressive work with all the research." Krilllin said, just as Yamcha arrived. "Very detailed and comprehensive. But I have to ask something, Gohan."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Why isn't Videl here?" Yamcha had been right, Krillin had been wondering about the same thing.

"What? Why would she be here?" Gohan actually stumbled back; more then he would have if Yamcha and Krillin had lashed out at the same time. The question was making him more then a little uncomfortable.

"Who do you think you're kidding, Gohan?" Yamcha backed Krillin, both stepping closer to Gohan both to keep the pressure on him and make sure no-one but Piccolo and Dende could hear their conversation. "We felt her power level increase over the past few months; you've taught her how to use her energy. So, since you asked everyone else here, why isn't she present?"

"Ehm, well, because… eh, you see… Videl is… she's…" For the life of him, Yamcha had never seen Gohan this indecisive since they had first met; moments before they would do battle with Vegeta and Nappa…

"Take your time." Krillin was calm, not mocking or anything of the like, but simply serious.

"It… wouldn't interest her." he finally said, though his shoulders slumped and Yamcha wondered who he was convincing: Them, or himself. "She's already famous for being a good fighter, this wouldn't change anything."

"Gohan, I think we all know that that's b-" Yamcha was starting, but Krillin silenced him with a look.

"Yamcha's also famous, but he's still here." The small man was surprisingly stern in both voice and face, despite barely reaching up to the waist of both other men.

"Yamcha's famous for being a baseball player. How's that working out, by the way?"

Yamcha could barely hold back a laugh at the incredibly non-subtle change of subject that Gohan had attempted.

XxX

The sun was high in the sky and not a cloud to be seen as Videl and Erasa were running through the park. They couldn't go ten seconds without meeting someone else who was exercising, or just lying around and enjoying the nice weather, but both girls simply enjoyed the light exercise.

"Shouldn't you be doing all kinds of crazy training to prepare for the tournament?" Erasa asked, shifting the tone of their conversation once again. In-between the various conversations they were having, both girls also enjoyed giving comments on their fellow park-goers; some were running like morons, others were dressed so ridiculously that they had trouble controlling their laughter. Some of the guys running by looked really good when sweating, making both girls turn their heads when they passed, others were so drenched they had to fight to keep a disgusted look off their face. All in all, a normal day in the park.

"I'm good." Videl replied, "I've done plenty of heavy exercises lately, so it's good to do some light stuff in-between. Besides, this is good for my running speed; it can't all be weightlifting, shadowing and sparring."

"Yeah, I guess so. Looking forward to it? The tournament, I mean." Neither girl was breathing hard yet, but then, they'd only been busy for a little over 10 minutes and were doing more of a relaxed jog then a full out sprint. And they still had over and hour to go.

"Definitely. First year in the senior competition and I'm stronger then ever. I can't wait to fight against dad! It's going to be an awesome match, I just know it."

"No argument there. But speaking of your newfound strength: how's your specialized training coming along? The Energy thing?" Erasa had been informed, by Videl, of her new powers a few days after the whole factory-kidnapping-android-battle event and, compared to the many other surprises, that one had been very minor and quickly accepted.

"It's coming along nicely." Videl suddenly increased her speed a bit, but still nothing Erasa couldn't easily match. "I still have some difficulty forming long-range attacks, but everything else is coming together nicely. Maybe not as fast as I'd like, but I'm getting there."

"Well, maybe it'd go faster if you got some help?" The suggestion caused Videl to turn and look at her friend, without missing a step. "I mean, you're trying to figure everything out on your own, when you know there are people out there who've been doing this kinda thing for years, right? Why not ask their help? Like you once said about martial arts: it's useless to try and goof around on your own, you need a master to become skilled. Or something like that, anyway."

"First off, I never said anything like that. It sounds like it came out of a bad kung-fu flick." Videl started, looking forward again, her eyes never connecting with Erasa's. "And second off, I'm doing fine, it's just that the advancements take a little bit longer then I'd have thought. But I'll manage it just fine on my own."

"I'm sure Gohan can help you out. I mean, he's taught you all the stuff, right? I'm pretty sure he can teach you a whole lot more." As she spoke, Erasa made sure to keep her eyes on Videl, to check for a reaction. Though the raven-haired fighter didn't answer immediately, there was much Erasa could see: a sudden slump of her shoulders, a sigh she couldn't stop, nearly missing a step…

"Actually…" Videl started, regaining her balance almost instantly. "I, ehm… I haven't really spoken to Gohan in a while. I've been busy training. Speaking of, it's time to add some speed."

Again, Videl increased her speed; this time going so much faster, Erasa could hardly keep up with her. But the blonde wasn't stopped, not this time.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled as she dashed after Videl in an all-out sprint, quickly gaining on her friend and, before she could react, tackled her to the ground. The surprise, more then the actual force of Erasa's impact, knocked Videl down. When Videl gathered her bearings again, she was looking up at a sight she had rarely, if ever, seen.

Erasa was glaring at her and she looked _pissed_!

"You are going to stop this ridiculous, completely-stupid and utterly inexcusable behavior right now!" Erasa was nearly shouting at her best friend as she glared down, hands still on her hips. "For weeks now, I've been looking at you two refusing to so much as look at each other, unless Sharpener and I force you to do so! You avoid him like the plague; you act like he's a vile, disgusting, contagious and monstrous _thing_, instead of what he really is!"

"What? Erasa, calm down! I…"

"No Videl! Not this time!" Erasa immediately stopped Videl, poking her in the chest for good matter. "I've been waiting for you to get your act together for weeks now and at least talk to him again, but you haven't! You're one of the strongest persons I know and definitely one of the best fighters. You've got more courage then anyone else I know when you're in a fight, but you try to run from this? No, you don't get to do that! Think about what he's going through, and think well!

After everything Krillin told us about him, all the stuff he went through, all the hardships he faced, and he finally found friends in us! He found you! And now, when he needs you the most, when he needs a friend, a shoulder, ANYTHING! To support him, you run? You keep thinking about how bad it is for you? I know you Videl, I know this has been gnawing at you all this time, but think what it'll be like for him! Just think about that, even for one minute."

Videl couldn't help but stare as Erasa, her face now flushed red with anger, finally stopped. She had never, ever seen Erasa get that angry. And, from what Videl could see, there were a good number of people who had stopped and looked to see what was going on.

"Erasa, stop this!" Videl pleaded, "Not here. We can go to your place, it's nearby and we can talk about this, but not in public, please." Videl never pleaded with anyone, not even her father.

"We're not going anywhere, until you promise me something." Erasa's face was set as stone. "We're only going away if you promise that you're going to talk to Gohan. He doesn't deserve to be treated the way he has, least of all by you. And I mean you will really talk to him! Explain what's been going on, why you've been doing what you have and at least make an honest effort to reconnect. Is that understood? Do I have your word you'll do that?"

Videl answered almost automatically. Anything to get away from all the questioning faces, away from where everyone could hear every word they both said. To stop Erasa from looking at her like that. Her answer didn't even register, until Erasa's face broke out into it's usual smile again.

"Yes, I'll do it…"

XxX

Gohan could see through the window that the sun was already setting: They'd been talking for a long, long time. The kids had left some time ago, probably to go play in the garden, while the discussions had flared up, died down, then flared up again.

He had managed to avoid Krillin and Yamcha's question about Videl, but their question had been haunting him for some time. Nevertheless, he did join in the discussion from time to time.

So far, it appeared that the general consensus was leaning towards not revealing the research: Piccolo, Master Roshi, Korin and Dende each made some very compelling arguments, while Krillin, Yamcha and Puar managed to come up with several decent counterarguments. Still, it seemed that most people agreed that humanity wasn't ready for the immense power that the research would give them.

"But if we do release the research, it would allow us to reach new breakthroughs in science." Yamcha spoke in counter-argument to something Piccolo had said before, "Remember? Ever since Dr. Briefs has known about Energy, he's developed Faster-then-Light speed travel, increased the space-worthy vehicles he's made and with Bulma's help massively improved transportation in general. If Energy became a widespread knowledge, scientists could stop their work on creating cleaner engines and start to focus more on intergalactic traveling."

This seemed to earn some points, but even as Yamcha inhaled another voice interrupted him, beyond all expectations.

"Oh wow, I didn't think you'd all be here together guys! That's a surprise."

The sudden silence in the room was deafening. Then everyone started at once.

"Am I going crazy?"

"Did I just hear?"

"… It can't be…"

"KAKAROT!?"

"Yeah guys, it's me. How're you all doing? Been a while, huh?"

"Dad?" Gohan's voice, like everyone's, was a mixture of surprise, wonder and excitement. "What's going on, why are we suddenly hearing your voice?"

"It's King Kai," Goku started, his voice as jovial as always, "He's letting me communicate with all of you telepathically."

"Hello everyone," Another voice, one only a handful of people in the room recognized, greeted, "What's the matter? You look like a monkey just stole your last banana!? MWHAHAHAHA, oh, how do I come up with this stuff?" the laughter continued for a few more seconds before Goku came back on.

"So, guys, have I got a surprise for you!" He started, "I've been given some time off, because of all the help I've been giving King Yemma cleaning up the Home for Infinite Losers whenever someone acts up."

"Say what? Time off? From what?" Krillin sounded like he was trying to stop himself from hoping for something.

"Well, being dead." Goku simply said, "I've been granted a day to return to Earth and meet you all again. And after King Kai told me Gohan and Vegeta would be participating in the World Tournament, that's the day I'm going to be back. This is going to be fun!"

"Huh?" Krillin sounded surprised by his best friend's statement, though really he shouldn't have been. "You get time off from being dead? How does that work? And when you finally get some time… you wanna join in a tournament… Yeah, you're Goku alright."

"Well guys, I'm going back to training, can't wait to see how strong you've all become! See you at the tournament."

That last statement, combined with Chichi being caught by her father as she fainted, stopped any further discussion right there. There was only one topic everyone was immediately discussing; Goku's sudden return.

XxX

Several days later, Gohan was still conflicted as he walked through the halls of Orange Star High. On the one hand, he was ecstatic with his dad's imminent return, but on the other… their discussion had been ground to a halt. And with how everyone had now thrown themselves into training – Tien, Krillin, Piccolo and #18 had suddenly decided to also enter the tournament, now that Goku was there – there was no chance the discussion could be held again.

At least not before the tournament had been held. So, Gohan still had a couple of weeks left. Maybe he could think of something himself. If only the decision wasn't so… big.

A sudden hand on his shoulder pulled Gohan out of his thoughts, looking up and seeing Sharpener.

"Yo Brainiac, we need to talk." Before Gohan could even process the words – or recognize the sudden use of Brainiac instead of his own name – the boxer was already pulling him along.

"Where're we going?" he finally got out, after they rounded another corner.

"The roof."

Several minutes, two wrong turns and several sets of stairs later, they finally found the door leading to the school's roof. Sharpener stepped through first, and then held the door open for Gohan. The moment the Saiyan had stepped through; however, Sharpener closed the door and leaned against it. A clear sign that he wasn't intending to let Gohan back into the building.

"Good, you're here as well." Another voice said from behind Gohan. Erasa's.

Now looking around, Gohan noticed that they were not, in fact, alone. Erasa and Videl were also there and apparently waiting for the boys to arrive. Or at least, that's what Gohan thought. Erasa had a surprisingly bossy air about her today, while Videl seemed almost… subdued. And surprised.

"Ok, Sharpener and I brought the two of you here, because you really need to talk." Erasa started, "It's been weeks since you've had a normal conversation with each other and that's only when we force you too. We've had it with waiting till you two get your act together, so we're intervening. You two are going to get back to talking with each other, now. We've locked the door and will not open it until you do."

At this point, Sharpener stepped forward as well, but he was holding his cellphone.

"And now that we're standing on this roof, I suddenly realize I'm talking to two people who can fly… so I'll add this; if you leave before you talk, I will call both your parents and tell them everything." He turned to Erasa with a smile, "Really… what were we thinking, trying to lock them on the roof?"

"I don't know!" Erasa hissed back, "It seemed like a good idea, and didn't _you_ think of it?"

"You didn't correct me!"

"You've known about the whole flying thing a lot longer than I have! Why would I have to remember everything!?"

Off on the side of the bickering blondes, Gohan and Videl felt themselves chuckling at the familiar scene. Finally, they looked at each other again.

"I missed this." Gohan finally said. "I miss us being a group again. Being together and… having fun."

"Me too." Videl finally said, taking a deep breath. "I miss having fun like we used to, just… hanging out and talking the day away. So… Gohan…" another deep breath as Videl but down on her lip and swayed from foot to the other. "Can we try to go back to how we were?"

"Yeah… I'd like that."

"so… I'll see you this weekend? At your place?"

That got Gohan stunned, both turning scarlet, before Videl hastily added something.

"You know…. To… get back to my… my training."

XxX

True to her declaration, that weekend Videl was back at the Son residence. After a lengthy catching up with Chichi, Videl finally joined Gohan outside to continue her training. And, oddly enough, unlike when they were on the rooftop, Gohan didn't seem all that tense or confused anymore.

It was better than Videl felt, looking at him again. He was wearing his blue training gi and as usual wasn't wearing a shirt underneath it. It was strange how Gohan, for all their dating, never seemed to realize what sort of affect his appearance had on her. With an effort, Videl forced herself back to the here and now. She had to pay attention, or she might miss something important.

"Ok, so, before we start training, let's review what you know so far and how your abilities have grown since your last training."

Videl started to gather her energy, mentally making a list of things she could show and how to go about them, when she was interrupted by a loud shout from the house.

"YESYESYESYESYES!" Goten raced out the door, straight towards the two teens screaming at the top of his lungs. He didn't stop when he reached them, but started dashing circles around the two. "GOHAN! MOM SAID I CAN JOIN THE TOURNAMENT! CAN I TRAIN WITH YOU NOW, PLEASE? TRUNKS IS ALSO TRAINING AND I REALLLY WANT TO TRAIN SO I CAN FIGHT HIM AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE TEACH ME HOW TO FLY!"

"What? Goten slow down. You're entering the tournament?"

"He is." Chichi said, walking towards them. "He asked me just now and said Trunks is also participating. They'll both be joining the junior cup, where they'll compete against other kids. So, I allowed it. IF he is cautious and makes sure he finishes his homework before he goes to training." She added that last part with a look at Goten. Videl had little doubt that if Goten didn't complete his homework even once, the tournament was off the table.

"Well… in that case… Videl, might we include Goten in our training? He also has a lot to learn about Energy."

"Not at all," Ok, so maybe she said that just a little too quickly, because she was still nervous about being alone with Gohan… "It'll be nice to have someone to train with." She smiled at Goten.

"Ok, in that case… Goten, I'll give you some assignments first, then I'll go over to Videl and see how she's advanced. Once I know where each of you is, we'll continue on to more serious assignments."

"Sure thing," Both students said.

Five hours later, as she made her way back to the Son residence – Gohan had eventually moved the training over to the nearby Lake when larger amounts of energy started getting involved – Videl couldn't stop staring at Goten. It had taken her hours to achieve liftoff, dayss to reach stable flight and months before she could stabilize herself enough to spar in the air.

Goten, who had never flown before today, was racing around them, banking, shadowing, twisting and turning as if he'd been doing it for decades. It was amazing, astounding and, if she were truly honest, making her green with envy.

Was everyone in this family some kind of freakish super-prodigy?

XxX

Meanwhile, in a completely different dimension, Gohan's father had intensified his training tenfold. The sight of Goku's new training regime was enough to stun everyone else on the Grand Kai's planet into silence as they looked on. Goku had been with them for years and they had known he was strong and loved training but this… this was on another level.

Even Pikon, his usual training partner, couldn't keep up with him in the slightest. Off in the corner, King Kai couldn't help but grin every time someone's jaw dropped.

Goku had just been given forty ton weights by South Kai, who had immediately left when he saw that those weights barely affected the Saiyan. Oh, how he loved it when his pupils surpassed everyone else's.

"Well, he sure seems fired up, doesn't he?" an old woman's voice sounded from nearby.

"Of course he does." The Kai answered as he looked at Baba, "He's looking forward to returning to his family, and seeing his friends again, even if it's only for a day."

"I've been meaning to ask about that…" The fortune teller floated in front of King Kai, blocking his view of Goku, "Why is Goku being send back to the Living World?"

"You heard him, didn't you? It's thanks for all his work in clearing out Home For Infinite Losers. Honestly, why don't they give that place a new name? I kinda like what humans tend to call it. Guess one of them must have had a _close call_ with HFIL to learn about _hell!_" again, the little blue man burst into laughing fits at his own joke. Baba, long since used to dealing with him by now, simply waited.

"You know what I mean." She said when his belly had stopped shaking, "Why is he being given time to return to the living? To the best of my knowledge, that's only happened a handful of times in the past. And whenever it happened, it was because something big was about to happen."

"Honestly, don't be so glum." King Kai waved her off with a laugh, "Goku's been a good lad and he's earned a reward. It's better for him to get it now, than a hundred years from now when all his loved ones are dead, don't you agree?"

"So… you don't know the reason either?" Baba bulldozed over King Kai's statement. This finally seemed to shake him out of his mirth.

"No, I don't. I've been trying to look into it, but no-one will tell me anything. Pikon's been helping Goku in every situation, but he's not being granted a Day of Life… But King Yemma wants Goku send back to earth… even the day was already set, when I heard it. Something is going on… and I'm not very comfortable with that idea."

XxX

As the sun rose, Gohan felt sweat drip down his back. He hadn't even done anything yet, but the anticipation was making his heart race at top speed.

"Come on kid, you can do this." Piccolo's voice was as solid as ever. He never asked Gohan to do something, he expected it. It was reassuring. With one final nod, Gohan pushed the button and activated the machine.

In succession the machine started its start-up process. Lights on his belt flickered first, then on his wristbands and ankle bands, before they synched up, blinking in unison.

"Oh wow, that's cool." Goten breathed out on Gohan's other side. "Can you change the colors of the lights as well?"

Gohan laughed at that suggestion. Here he was, testing the newest version of his Mobile Graviton, and Goten asked if it could be used for lights. His brother was one-of-a-kind.

"Alright, now let's see if the machine is safe or not." Piccolo ordered. That was the reason Piccolo was here; the Namek would notice even the tiniest problem and shut down the machine, ensuring Gohan wouldn't have the same problem as he'd had before. He could do just fine without another cardiac arrest, thank you very much.

And, just as important, if something went wrong Piccolo would be able to easily identify just when and where it happened. Possibly even why. But that meant Gohan would have to complete his test first…

Gohan took another deep breath, then another. When Goten started jumping around, almost ready to go flying after a bird he saw overhead, Gohan realized he was taking too long. He finally pushed the button to activate the Graviton.

He could feel the pressure, however slight, take over his body. In theory, this should be safe. In the past versions, the problem was that energy would disrupt the gyros which were causing the gravitational field. The disturbance in their rotations would make the gravity change at random. This new version, however, completely lacked gyros. Instead, it worked with magnets and electric currents.

By creating a magnetic field between the belt and both sets of bracelets – one set for the wrists, one set for the ankles – the new Graviton would instead use the energy that the user's body expelled for power and generate an electro-magnetic field which increased gravity for everything inside the field. At the same time, it also negated the effects outside the field. That last bit was a brilliant suggestion made by Vicky during the last brainstorm session.

Gohan would feel the higher gravity, but nothing else would be affected. He could take a step, or fall, and to him it would be a massive impact… but to the world around him it would be as if he were his normal weight. His steps wouldn't cause tremors that way. Sitting down on a chair would also be possible, in theory.

But first, he had to test if the machine functioned like he'd theorized.

So, with the belt indicating a safe ten times Earth's normal gravity, Gohan started to raise his energy. He could barely feel the additional weight, but as he powered up, nothing happened. Gaining confidence, he increased the energy output. Still, nothing happened. Even transforming to Super Saiyan didn't affect the device.

That was one major obstacle. Now, though, Gohan had to go to the next step. Raising his hands, Gohan gathered energy and formed a sphere, between his palms. Glowing bright yellow, Gohan kept feeding it energy, waiting for any effects.

Nothing happened.

The field was stable, even when he used his energy. That left only three more tests to do.

"So far, so good." Gohan reported to Piccolo and Goten. Piccolo nodded, having paid close attention to everything his old pupil had done. Goten realized his brother had said something and came rushing back from the bird's nest he'd found in a nearby tree.

"What was that?"

"Everything's going good so far Goten. Now, for the next test. Piccolo?"

Without warning – at least, to Goten – Piccolo fired a blast at Gohan. The elder Halfling took the blast to the chest without guarding. When the smoke cleared, Gohan stood there as if nothing had happened. His shirt was still singed by the blast, though.

"Test number four, success." Gohan stated. An energy surge from the outside doesn't affect the machine, even though I felt the blast. "Now… for test number five. You two standing by?"

More than any other, this was the test Gohan had feared. He could feel his heart skipping beats as he fingered the belt. With another deep breath, Gohan pushed some buttons. As the number on the belt's display increased, Gohan could feel the effects. The gravity shut up and up in steady bouts. First to twenty, then fourty, then sixty. It stayed at one setting for ten seconds, and then increased. Even with his energy, the field was stable. Finally, with the graviton setting at one hundred, it stopped climbing.

After another thirty seconds of waiting, during which Gohan experimentally higher and lowered his energy, he finally exhaled.

"Test five is a success. Alterations in the field's setting are not affected by the user's energy, regardless of fluctuations. This leaves only the final test."

Taking several steps away from his brother and mentor, Gohan crouched down in a fighting stance, dropping out of Super Saiyan as he did so.

"Test number six, adaptation to movement, energy fluctuation and outside interference, begin. Piccolo, Goten… Let's spar!"

XXXxxxXXXxxx

Kushin eX wants to let everyone know that he's beta'd this chapter and is beyond pleased that it is here. he's looking forward to seeing this story continue.

As always, please review.


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

XXXXXxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxx

The night's sky was filled with stars, but Gohan was hardly paying attention to them. He was too busy evading Videl's next attack. Catching her left hook, he tried to counter, but her follow-up knee instead forced him to back off and let go. From there, she extended her leg, nailing him in the chin. Before she could follow up again, Gohan moved with the force and backed off.

"I kinda like this." Videl was grinning from ear to ear. "With you wearing your new belt-and-bracelet combo, we're suddenly sparring on a more even level."

"Yeah, we are, aren't we?" Gohan floated over. Both teens were dripping with sweat, as expected from their workout. The last month before the tournament had everyone pulling out all the stops. Special diets were being followed, secret new techniques were being perfected and everyone was trying to push for that last bit of extra speed and power. Videl, Gohan and Goten were no different.

With the Mobile Graviton fully functional, Gohan could use his time teaching his brother and girlfriend to also train himself. Videl had objected, since Gohan was using more advanced training equipment then her, but relented when Gohan pointed out that always happened in sports events. Some people simply had better equipment then others. Vegeta had had a Graviton for years, but no-one complained about it. And they were training for a friendly sporting match. It was all in good fun, no need to be all too serious.

But Gohan still pushed all of them to the limit every night. Videl was so exhausted that she had to fly back to her home with her Jetcoptor. In fact, on more than one occasion she'd simply slept over at the Son residence. Gohan's back was beginning to ache from the nights on the couch. Today was no exception. They'd been going at it since dawn, switching between sparring to control exercises, back to sparring, or power exercises. Videl was just beginning to figure out how to sense Energy.

"That's enough for right now." Gohan said, lowering his altitude until he was back amongst the trees. Videl floated down beside him, but both stayed well above the ground.

"Really?" Videl was still grinning, "and just when I was starting to enjoy kicking your ass."

"Yes really," Gohan smiled back, "I think we've done enough sparring for today. Today's last exercise will be all about control."

"Same as usual?" Videl could barely hold back a sigh. The control exercise Gohan had her do was teaching her a lot, but she felt like such a loser. At his nod, Videl made two balls of energy, one in each hand, and then started moving them around. That's all the exercise really was. Create balls of energy and move them around. Moving the energy meant you had to control it, even after it left your body. Since it was moving, you had to keep feeding it a steady stream of energy, or the balls would run out. It wasn't hard. At all.

What infuriated Videl about it was how easy Gohan made it look.

She'd started with two energy balls and was now working with eight. Once she got the hang of it, she'd have to split one of the balls in two, and then stabilize them again. Gohan followed the same pattern as her. He said he also needed the exercise in control.

One orb was floating up and down in front of Videl, another was doing circles over her head, the third was moving back-and-forth at her side, the fourth was moving in the opposite direction on her other side, the fifth was spinning in figure-eight between her legs while number six and seven made wide circles around her, always stopping an instant before the collided, then going in the other direction before almost colliding half a circle later. The eighth ball was moving in a seemingly random pattern in between, never touching any of the others.

That was as far as Videl could get it. Controlling eight orbs simultaneously cost her all of her attention. Sweat was still running off her entire body as she focused intensely.

'_Just don't look at him._' She reminded herself, '_focus on what you're doing, don't look up._'

Of course, after thinking that, Videl couldn't stop herself from looking up.

Some distance away, Gohan was performing the exact same exercise. But he didn't have eight orbs floating around him. He had over a hundred flying all over the area. Some were doing twists and turns around treetops, others were racing nearby birds, or hovering in the foliage. One of those orbs, Videl could sense, was more than powerful enough to destroy the next couple hundred feet of forest. And they would explode on impact.

But that wasn't even the impressive part. The impressive part was the incredibly complex series of maneuvers that Gohan had the majority of orbs do around him. No two moved in the same pattern, or the same speed, but they never touched. And Gohan never looked at them. They just kept moving.

"Grr…." Videl couldn't stop her growl.

"Keep your calm, Videl. You need to focus to complete the exercise."

Always the same advice. And she knew he was right, but that didn't stop her feelings. How could he make it seem so damn easy? And to make things even worse… she couldn't take her eyes off of him, even if she'd wanted too.

Gohan was being bathed in that radiant light, coming from a hundred different sources, showing just how handsome he is, how his entire body as bathed in sweat and how he was still breathing really hard from their earlier spar. His arms, pure muscle with some scars here and there, shined in the night, his chest was heaving and kept drawing her attention, his neck pulsing with his every breath. Videl was sure she could almost feel his heartbeat, even from that distance.

"Wow…" Gohan exhaled, pulling Videl out of her thoughts again. "It's getting pretty hard."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Controlling my balls."

"…. What?"

"Well, if I don't… they'd… you know, explode…"

"Ok, Videl, time to get your mind out of the gutter…" she whispered to herself, before she addressed Gohan again, "Yeah, we wouldn't want that, right?"

"No, I don't think you'd be looking too good if they exploded." Several of the orbs around Gohan winked out of existence, altering the light immediately, but Videl was sure she saw…

"Yeah, I hate it when balls explode in my face." She floated back over, fighting off a blush and trying to keep a grin in place. Were they really doing this?

"That's happened to you before?" Ok, now he was sounding genuinely confused… was he really playing this game, or was he just that… gullible? Well, he was about to end the game anyway.

"Will you just shut up and kiss me already?" she finally demanded. She was already floating right in front of him, both their faces beet red, their chests heaving with every breath. For weeks, they'd been together more often than not, sweating together, training together, eating together. It had reawakened something in Videl. The same thing she'd felt for months before. Before everything had gone to hell because of Johnson and Gero and Behersk and everything else that happened. And she was sure Gohan felt it as well.

Gohan didn't wait any longer, both his hands taking hold of her face and guiding their lips together. Like the first time they'd kissed, the first kiss was kind, gentle and testing. It lasted forever. The lights from the energy orbs all around them stabilized as neither teen had their attention on moving them around. Releasing each other from the kiss, they immediately went back. And, also like the first time, the seconds kiss was more hungry and daring then the first. From there, Videl lost all manner of thought as the orbs did some synchronized circles around them, before vanishing completely by the time of the fourth kiss.

By the sixth kiss, Videl's hands were wandering where Gohan's shirt used to be. One of his hands was in her shirt as well and sending electricity all over her spine. The other… was a bit lower and the grip he had made her want to scream.

"What're you doing?"

Goten's voice was like a thunder crack across the otherwise silent forest. They hadn't seen the boy in ages – Gohan had send him back home to do homework and afterwards do some evasive drills before going to sleep – but apparently he'd come to check up on them. Before she'd thought of any of that, however, Videl and Gohan had already separated, both red to the roots of their hair, and were busy looking everywhere except at each other and the little boy.

The oddest thing though, was how… curious and earnest he was sounding. But Videl knew that it was over anyway. They'd have to tell Chichi that they were dating. If she was lucky… really, really, REALLY lucky, the woman wouldn't try to force her into marriage.

"Really, Big Brother… what were you doing?"

XxX

All over the world, other warriors were busy preparing.

Twenty miles above Turtle Island, Krilllin and #18 were sparring. The height made it nearly impossible to breath or move, ensuring maximal training conditions. It also meant that there was almost no chance of them accidentally striking the Turtle House, Marron or Master Roshi.

"Ok Krillin, I'm going to be coming at you with thirty-eight percent of my power this time. Try to get a good hit in." #18 had to shout loudly but even so Krillin could barely hear his wife. Even so, he got the general idea. She was going to come at him with more power than before.

He barely had time to realize that, when she was already charging at him, firing a volley of energy blasts to cover her charge. Instead of dodging them, like she would've expected, Krillin raised a barrier of energy to stop them. The explosions from her own attacks knocked #18 of course enough for Krillin to launch a charge of his own.

On another continent, Vegeta felt a sense of pride as he watched his son complete the third set of a thousand push-ups. Normally that would not have impressed the Saiyan prince; he expected such dedication to training from his son. What made Vegeta feel proud was the fact that Trunks was doing those pushups on one finger, at a gravity setting of a hundred-and-seventy-five, without being a Super Saiyan. Three months ago, he could barely walk in a setting like this.

"One-thousand!" Trunks claimed triumphantly, pushing off hard enough to jump up and flip around. "What's next dad?"

"Next up…" Vegeta turned to face his son, not caring to hide his grin. "Take your stance, it's time I teach you how to really fight."

Trunks' face was an odd mix of horror – due to his father's rigorous training methods – and delight.

Meanwhile, on the Lookout, things were oddly quiet, considering the preparations Piccolo was making. Dende and Mr. Popo had been looking on for days as the elder Namekian floated in a single place, maintaining his Lotus position as he meditated. For all the stillness of his body, both could see and feel that he was, in fact, training. Energy was moving around his body, morphed into lightning, striking out at anything that was near. Muscles tensed and relaxed at random; Piccolo was holding intense battles in his mind and his body was reacting to them.

Far away from all civilization, deep in the mountains, Tien and Chiaotzu were also training. The short emperor was busy blasting at the dozens of Tien around him, shooting Dodonpa after Dodonpa, but never scoring a hit.

The blasts phased through the triclops clones, already an afterimage. But after each attack, another of the images would launch a counter-strike. Changing strategy, Chiaotzu instead rushed in, trying to get close to one of the clones. He moved straight through the first, which was an after-image, but before he could turn around he was hit by another clone. Taking the hit, Chiatozu kicked out, but he was already too late. It was another after-image.

"Ok Tien, I think you've got the hang of it by now." The emperor said, after another five failed attempts at fighting back. "Think it's ready for the tournament?"

"I hope so." Tien said as his clones and after-images disappeared. "With Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Piccolo joining up, I have to be ready to face an opponent who's stronger and faster than me. With my new technique, I may just stand a chance of that."

"And what about Krillin?"

"Oh, he's dangerous, alright. But unlike the others, he's pretty much on my level with speed and strength. Would be nice to finally decide which of us is stronger though."

XxX

Like every year before, Videl couldn't pull her eyes away from the large island as her father's private jet closed in. Fireworks were going off on the other end of the island, boats were arriving in the dozens, and absolutely gigantic screens were showing commercials or recaps of old tournaments. But what Videl always thought was the most impressive was just how _many_ people were present. Even from up in the sky, the crowds were so massive it looked like the entire island was moving.

As the Jet touched down, Videl glanced over at her father's other guests. Aside from a number of important business relations, most were actual friends of Hercule and Videl. Sharpener and his parents – of course, his mother was sitting in between the two blonde mules to prevent a fight – and opposite of them was Erasa's family. Both families, as well as a couple of others, had places in Hercule's VIP box. They'd have a first class view of the action.

Also like every year prior, the group could hardly leave their plane before they were surrounded by reporters. The joys of being famous. There was a press conference being held in mere moments, but that never seemed to please the press.

"Hercule, what're you expectations for this year's tournament?"

"Videl, how about you?"

"Will you be facing each other for the finale?"

Videl had locked most of the questions out by that point, instead making her way to the press conference room as the hired guards made a path. Once inside the hall, the press conference started in earnest. As expected, most of the questions were aimed at her father, but some were directed at her.

"Champion, what are your expectations for this year's tournament?" The question from outside was repeated. Of course, that would be the first thing on their mind.

"What'd you guys want me to say?" Hercule returned, a grin already on his face, "Like every year, I'm expecting a lot of good fights, but I fully intend to take the belt back home with me."

"And you Videl? Now that you will enter the main tournament, what are your expectations?"

"What else?" Videl mimicked her father's grin, "I'm looking forward to a lot of good fights, probably a lot more difficult than my experiences in the Junior Tournament, but well… I've gotten used to having a belt of my own."

That statement, bold as it was, got them chattering and photographing again, just as Videl had known. And, of course, that meant the conference would take a bit longer.

XxX

On the other end of the island, Gohan was having trouble believing his eyes. Standing there, the only difference from seven years ago a barely visible Halo, Goku was smiling at all his friends.

"Hey guys!" he waved, "Been a while huh?"

Before he could even put his hand down, Gohan had already grabbed his father and hugged him.

"Too long Father." He said, "Too long by far."

Behind him Vegeta, Bulma, Krillin, Piccolo and Yamcha visibly flinched at the sudden change in Gohan's tone and word use. It had been weeks, months even, since he had last reverted to the Commander like that. It was good to have Goku back, no doubt, but his mere presence would no doubt cause problems for Gohan.

"But Dad, before the tournament starts," Gohan had regained his own tone again, now holding his father at arm's length, "There's someone you have to meet."

With a grin, Gohan reached behind him and gently grasped Goten's shoulder. Suddenly the boy was shy, though Gohan had expected it. Ever since he had been born, Goten had heard legends about his father. Meeting him would be strange, at the least.

"Hey! There's a little… me behind you, Gohan."

XxX

The testing grounds were crowded. Very, very crowded. Thousands or martial artists had gathered here from all over the world to participate in this tournament. Warriors of every size, age and discipline had gathered. This was one part of the tournament Videl had never seen before. The junior competition was being held at the same time as the try outs for the main events, so she'd never been here before.

People had formed groups everywhere; some people were standing together, old associates catching up, rivals making boasts to each other or just stranger killing time by talking with each other. Others were standing back, glaring at everyone that got near, or performing one ritual or another. She was pretty sure she a duo in form-fitting green clothes walking around on their hands, but they were hardly the only ones still training.

It was natural that everyone who stood on these stones was nervous; some meditated to reduce stress, others trained. For her part, Videl was busy keeping a straight face, not showing how nervous she was about being here. She knew she was strong enough to be here, but still she was anxious. Her dream for years was about to come true.

She also took some pride in the fact that most of the fighters, even though she'd never seen most of them, seemed to defer to her; they gave polite nods or greetings and cleared the way when she walked over. Moving through the crowd, Videl was looking for a specific group.

Finally, after having searched for at least half an hour, Videl recognized Piccolo from a distance; he stood almost a head and shoulders taller than anyone else and was wearing his turban, as if being green didn't make him stand out enough already. And where Piccolo was, Videl had little doubt Gohan would be close by.

"Hey guys." She greeted as she walked up to the group. They all seemed remarkably at ease; Piccolo had his eyes closed and stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the wall, Vegeta in a nearly identical pose next to him. Krillin, Tien and Gohan were standing together talking with someone Videl hadn't met before. He looked exactly like Goten, only much older. The man made a comment that send Krillin falling backwards in laughter and made Tien chuckle.

It took her a second or two to register just who she was seeing.

"Hey Videl." #18's voice sounded from behind her, making Videl jump. She hadn't even seen the android, or the small figure standing next to her. With all the impressive looking warriors, the small clown-like emperor and ordinarily build #18 almost disappeared from view.

"You ready for the tournament?" Videl asked, seeing that Gohan's little group was still talking amongst themselves.

"Pretty much," The blonde answered, "I'm pretty sure Krillin and I have a shot at some of the prize money. I'm just hoping for some positive matchups."

"Aren't we all," Videl smiled, "What'd you like to see in a matchup?"

"Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo and Goku all meeting each other before the semi-finals." She answered, "That way, there's no-one to stand in our way as we reach for that championship reward. But that's probably asking for a bit too much."

"Goku?" Videl 's earlier suspicion was confirmed, but… it just didn't make sense. "But how…"

"Hi, what's your name?" an unfamiliar voice said from behind her. This time, Videl did jump. What was with these people? Regaining her composure, she turned around and saw the older Goten – Goku, she told herself again – standing before her, a hand extended in greeting.

"I'm Videl." She said, numbly shaking his hand. She still couldn't believe it. "I'm friends with Gohan." She added.

"Really?" Goku's smile was both relaxing and intoxicating. Videl couldn't stop herself from returning it. "I'm Goku, Gohan's father. Nice to meet you Videl. Looking forward to seeing you in the ring, you look like you're pretty strong."

"Likewise." Videl still wasn't working properly, it just… couldn't be. Goku couldn't be here. Apparently, her mouth agreed with her mind before she could stop it. "But… Aren't you dead?"

That statement immediately silenced everyone in the group. Nervous, with all their eyes on her, she continued stammering.

"I mean, when I was over at your house and training with Chichi, she told me a bit about you and she said that you died. Before Goten was even born…"

As she said it, she realized how strange it sounded. Maybe she remembered it wrong, or Chichi had meant something else; plenty of people twisted truths to make themselves more sympathetic, after all.

"Yeah, I am." Goku smiled at her, before raising a hand above his head. Behind him, Gohan and the others nearly choked. Piccolo's hand was an inch from Goku, no doubt about to tear him away, but it was too late.

"See this?" He continued, pointing at the yellow ring above his head, "This is my Halo, it means I'm dead, but was allowed to keep my body."

Something in her expression must have given him pause, because he looked at Videl for a second before he went on.

"But I'm granted a day back on Earth to compete in the tournament. I'm really psyched for it; everyone looks like they're in top shape!"

At that point, Gohan had apparently recovered a bit, because he was suddenly standing between Videl and his father, his expression one of disbelieve.

"Videl…" he started and she almost gasped. He had switched voices in the middle of the word, from Gohan to Saiyaman. She hadn't heard that since… well, the day she'd found out about his condition. In all the weeks they'd been training together, he'd remained in control. Sometimes he was more Saiyaman or Commander then Gohan, but at least he was always stable.

"This is…." He tried again, his voice not cracking this time. He took another deep breath, and then looked her in the eye. Videl herself was still too dumbfounded to do more than stare. She was looking at a dead guy?

"It's a long story." Gohan finally sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his head as he always did, "And I promise, I'll tell you everything there is to know about it. But not here, or now. I can tell you everything after the tournament, ok? No more secrets, no more lies. You deserve at least that much."

"What!?" Goku suddenly shouted from somewhere behind Gohan, though Videl hardly registered it, "Krillin, you should've told me that sooner! I mean, I thought she'd know, with her energy being so high and everything."

"Uhm…" she swallowed, which was much more difficult then she'd have thought, "thanks… I guess?"

Much of the following ten minutes passed as a blur, while Videl was still working on accepting one major fact; she was looking at – and probably going to be fighting – a dead guy. A living dead. Walking around in sunlight, with a smile on his face and a Halo on his head. She missed most of the explanation for the entering event, though she did see the large machine being reeled in.

Her father appeared with it, no doubt made some of his usual boasts, did some stances and punched the machine. After some beeps it came out on some three-digit number, but Videl hardly paid attention.

"Such a disappointment." Goku's pout – Videl recognized it as identical to Goten's – pulled her out of her thoughts. "And I was sooooo looking forward to fighting all these guys."

"I think it's a very unfair ruling." Krillin seemed to agree with whatever it was that Goku was talking about, "I mean, it won't be a problem for us, because… well, we're us. But for normal people? This kind of arrangement completely mocks the very idea of the World Tournament of Martial Arts."

"What're they talking about?" Videl finally asked Gohan, who was still standing next to her. Much to her amusement, Gohan also jumped, before turning to face her, his concern obvious.

"Are you ok? You… weren't really all there for a while."

"Yeah, I'm ok… just… had to process that for a bit. But what're they talking about?"

"That machine," Gohan pointed over his shoulder, "that they use to determine who can go into the World Tournament."

"I mean, it turns the entire tournament into a hard-hitter competition." Krillin continued, "It's just very narrow sighted."

"I agree," Tien growled, "It mocks the very principles of martial arts. Skill, speed, power, precision and experience all contribute to who wins a match. This way, fighters who rely on speed stand no chance of ever winning."

"But more than that… this is going to be boring…" Goku pouted again, "Hey, do you guys think we could go for a quick snack while we wait for our turn!?"

Before anyone could answer that – though from the looks on everyone's faces, Videl thought they'd been expecting that question for a while – a deadly silence fell over the entire arena.

All eyes pointed towards the punching machine. A small man, about Chiaotzu's size really but oddly enough with blue skin, was standing in front of it with an odd smile on his face. The thing that had shocked everyone was the score on the punching machine. It was a four digits score that started with an eight. A glance at the blackboard next to the machine showed Videl her father's score; an already impressive two-twenty-five.

The officials gave the small blue man with the odd mohawk the OK, before the recalibrated the machine. Then a very impressively build man with – of all things – pink skin stepped forward and punched. Like the blue man, he two scored a four-digit score.

The silence was almost deafening.

With another strange smile, the little blue man lead the large pink man away to a side area, to wait for the tournament to begin. After another re-calibration by the officials – and a total of thirty minutes delay – the measuring continued, slow but steady. Only for it to reach another stop.

This time, it was two men; both wore leotards and combat boots, had bald heads bearing little more than a strange tattoo – probably the mark of their gym – and a lot of muscle. They had each scored a score well over double her father's; five hundred exactly for the larger of the two and five-twenty-seven for the smaller. Like the oddly-colored men before them, they simply left the area and waited to be called upon.

"Well, at least it looks like we'll have plenty of good competition." Goku sounded excited about that. Videl felt very scared instead. Dead men walking and people who so vastly overpowered her father…

XxX

In the end, it had taken the entire group almost three hours before they had finished their punch-ins. Mostly because the officials insisted on re-calibrating the machine after every member had taken a turn; apparently, they got very nervous when everyone scored well over four-hundred points. It had been fortunate for everyone that Videl had gone last.

Having seen the scores everyone else had gotten – from Piccolo's very controlled three-eighty-nine, to Vegeta's careless five-digit scoring punch – Videl had punched the machine with her full power.

It had exploded on the spot.

Vegeta had actually laughed at that. Goku had a very surprised look on his face, but only said he was impressed. Krillin had given her a friendly slap on the shoulder before the entire group left. Videl was left to profoundly apologize to everyone present for what she'd done, her head as red as a tomato. She had not expected that to happen.

But, as it was, they were all allowed into the main event, as soon as the junior cup was finished. Fortunately, the finale had just started as they arrived. As expected, Trunks and Goten were facing each other for Videl's old title.

From what they'd been able to learn, the two boys had cruised through the entire tournament without even taking a hit. That alone had earned them respect from the crowd, judges and commentator. Even Videl had never done so well in her tournaments.

"Now ladies and gentlemen, We're proud to present to you; The final match of the Junior World Tournament of Martial Arts. Fighters, ready?"

Goten and Trunks were both grinning from ear to ear as they bowed to each other and immediately went into their battle stance.

"Fight!"

The two immediately exploded into action, meeting in the center of the ring and started going after each other. If Videl hadn't seen Goten and Gohan train these past few months and didn't remember what had happened when Trunks had arrived in that factory, she would probably be stunned.

As it was, however, she was straining her eyes to keep up with the two tiny fighters. They were both lightning fast and the distance wasn't really helping her see.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I can hardly believe what I'm seeing! I can hardly see what I'm seeing, in fact!" the commenter sounded overjoyed at the idea though, "Both fighters move with extreme speed, almost too fast even for my experienced eyes. But what I do see is a match better than anyone could have possibly expected."

In the ring Goten and Trunks separated for a bit then rushed at each other again. Goten ducked under Trunks' punch and tried to attack, but Trunks suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Goten, who also disappeared and tried to kick Trunks in the face. The purple-haired boy caught the kick and tried to twist Goten to the floor, but another attack forced him to back off.

"The exchanges here are not only high-paced but also of incredibly high caliber." He commented, "From what I can see, both fighters use a variation of attacks, blocks, evades and counters. And, most impressive of all folks, they seem to be ready for anything the other can throw. Despite these impressive exchanges, neither has landed a clean hit yet."

Again the two boys met, but this time they immediately launched themselves into the sky while they fought. Apparently, Goten was the better fighter in the air, because he suddenly scored a hit on Trunks.

Only for Trunks to instantly return with a kick in the gut, making the two even again.

"Unbelievable!" the two never stopped their exchanges, hardly flinching from the attacks they were taking, "Even taking a real hit doesn't stop these two from fighting. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is truly a match worthy of a World Championship finale!"

Videl had to agree; she'd been champion five years in a row, but none of her matches had been this exciting. Suddenly the entire arena shook, knocking over several people. In the ring, both Goten and Trunks fell back from each other; they'd scored a painful looking – and sounding, the hit could be heard even from that distance – double exchange.

But they were back at it before either touched the ground, back and forth the attacks went, their offense and defense so closely matched it was impossible to determine who was winning.

After almost twenty minutes, the fight was still even. And despite the length, no-one was bored; these two tiny fighters could put on a show.

"Not bad Goten." Trunks could clearly be heard now; the two had been talking all throughout their match, but the crowd had drowned out most of it. This time, though, they were silent as the boys grinned at each other. "You've been training a lot haven't you?"

"You bet!" Goten smiled, "After all, I want to win!"

"Well so do I." Trunks crouched down, "And this time, I'll show you what training with my dad taught me!"

"And I'll show you what I learned from my brother!"

Again the two dashed at each other. But instead of meeting in the middle, like they'd done over a dozen times so far, Trunks suddenly stopped short and instead kicked the ground. The force of the impact shook the small arena, knocking Goten off balance for a second. That was all the opening Trunks needed.

Closing in, he quickly landed a painful combination of punches before Goten recovered and countered. Still, those hits he'd gotten in would count; Goten's breathing was suddenly a lot harder.

"See?" Trunks laughed, wiping the few drops of blood that had gathered at the corner of his mouth from Goten's cross. "One of the many things my dad taught me."

"Not bad." Goten could barely be heard over his breathing, "But I guess I'll have to use something else then. Something special!"

"Bring it!" Again Trunks charged at his friend, but instead of fighting back, Goten jumped back, evading every attack. He kept that up, dodging every strike, until they were nearly at the edge. Then he did the completely unexpected.

Goten grabbed each of Trunks' hands, pinning them to his side and instantly moved his head close.

The stadium – which had again grown loud in their cheers during the exchange – fell completely silent as Goten full-out kissed Trunks on the lips.

With an effort, Trunks broke his arms free and released himself, jumping back in disgust from his friend.

"GOTEN! EEW, GROSS, WHAT WAS THAT!" he shouted.

"Ringout!" the announcer shouted at the same time.

Trunks, in his efforts of getting away from Goten, had landed on the grass. Outside of the ring. The look of horror on his face only intensified as he realized what had happened. Goten raised his arms to the sky, a grin on his face.

"I did it!" he shouted, "I won, I won, I won I won I won I won!"

Goten started running victory laps around the ring at top speed, shouting his victory to the sky. Trunks, meanwhile, kept spitting out into the grass in disgust; he just knew he still had a flavor in his mouth.

The announcer was called over to the judge's booth for a few seconds, and then raised the mircrophone to his lips.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, this exciting match has gotten a surprise ending!" he started. Silence still ruled the stadium, except for Goten's happy shouts of victory. "However, I fear I must bring young Goten bad news."

Hearing that, Goten stopped his running around and looked at the announcer. The entire stadium seemed to be listening, holding their breath.

"Goten assured his victory by distracting his opponent by kissing him, a most unorthodox strategy to be sure. However, as per the rules instated following the twenty-first World Tournament of Martial Arts, it is illegal to use any form of sexual advances to gain the advantage. Therefore, I am sorry to say, Goten is disqualified, which means Trunks is our winner!"

"WHAT!?" The shout came from Goten and Trunks at the same time, one overjoyed and one dumbfounded. "That wasn't kissing!" Goten added.

"Before I move on to the interview with the winner, a quick word for our equally impressive second place." The announcer decided that was in order, both to clear up that statement and due to the laughs it suddenly earned from the crowd. "Goten, you've fought very well today, no doubt one of the most impressive fights in the history of this tournament. However, you unfortunately lost. Did you know about the rules in the tournament?"

"No, I didn't." Goten looked and sounded really sad as he said it, earning a chorus of sympathetic sounds from the crowd, "But I guess I should have. My brother was right."

'_Oh no._' Videl had one second to realize what was about to happen, but it was already too late. '_He's not going to…_'

"What'd you mean by that?"

"My brother," Goten stated as if it was the answer to the question, "Gohan, I saw him train a couple of times. But what I did wasn't kissing! Kissing is gross!" Another chorus of laughs.

"Then what was it?" By this time the announcer obviously had to control his own amusement. Videl felt her heart jump, but knew it was nothing compared to what Gohan was going through. Goku was throwing around confused glances, while Krillin was giving him a very shady and amused grin.

"Well, Gohan told me it was a really advanced form of close combat that's used to stun your opponent, but you're not allowed to use it unless you're fifteen or older." More pouting, "Guess he was right. But I thought I could use it after I saw him and Videl train it."

XXXXxxxxxxXXXXXXxxxxxxXXXXXX

As always, please review.

Beta Note: Kushin-eX here, damn it's been a long time since I beta'd one of these. Show your appreciation by giving a _good_ review, 'Nice' or anything like that isn't a review, it's just a nice ego stroke. You'd be doing me a favor if you did.


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